An Innocent Heart
by Innocent heart2
Summary: After Allen nearly died on his mission, all of his friends are told that he will not live much past his seventeenth birthday. With that in mind, everyone pitches in to make all of his wishes come true. AllenXLenalee with possible other pairings.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own -Man. If I did…well, there would be deaths of several characters. *Laughs evilly* Anyways, enjoy!

_**An Innocent Heart**_

"Allen!" cried out a red headed man.

The red headed man rushed through knee deep water with an old, short man and another man of about 18 with long, black hair and a shining black and blue katana. They rushed to where, mingled in with the rumble and pieces of akuma bodies, their fallen comrade lay motionless. His snow white hair dyed red with his own blood and left eye still activated with its search for akuma. The boy's innocence, the essence that allows him to fight the akuma, also still activated although slowly weakening, was spread out across the boulders as if to fend something off. As his companions drew closer, the boy's left arm, which had changed into a sword earlier, was slowly returning to the first state of activation.

"Moyashi!" the man with the katana shouted.

Suddenly, the boy moved his head. It was a very slight movement but it gave the three hope. The red head was the first to reach the boy. Using his anti-akuma weapon hammer, he moved any threat further away and then tried to help the boy.

"L…Lavi…save th-these two first…" the boy barely managed to say.

Slowly, the boy deactivated his innocence to reveal a young girl of about 7 and a boy of 10. Lavi stared at the two in total awe. Where had the come from?

"Hey, Allen? Where'd these kids come from?" Lavi questioned as the other two reached them.

"They're…innocence a-accommodators…" Allen managed to say before passing out.

"What?" the man with the katana exclaimed.

"Hey kids! Are you okay?" Lavi shouted with a new sense of urgency.

Slowly the two kids opened their eyes and looked around. They seemed puzzled as to where they were until they saw Allen's body.

"Mister!" the girl screamed in pure horror.

When she would have flung herself onto his body, the other kid grabbed her and pulled her into a tight embrace. The old man went up to Allen and did a quick assessment on his fading health.

"Don't worry. He's just unconscious right now. However, if we don't get him back to headquarters soon, he might not make it," the old man stated.

"So what do we do, Bookman?" the other male asked.

"We use the ark and get back, baka Yuu!" Lavi snapped at the samurai.

Lavi placed the top of his hammer on the ground and held out a hand out to the kids.

"Let's go you two. We need to leave now," Lavi sighed, grabbing the kids, "Yuu, you need to carry Allen while we head back. Bookman, you should help him."

"Why do I have to carry the Moyashi!" Yuu snapped.

"Because someone has to and, though to you he's a Moyashi, Allen's too big for Bookman to carry!" Lavi snapped back, "Now get Allen and grab this hammer!" Mumbling under his breath, Yuu slowly picked up Allen and carried him back to the hammer.

"B-BaKanda…" Allen muttered.

"Baka," Yuu sighed.

With all of them holding onto the handle, Lavi looked towards the North and then back to Allen.

"Don't worry, Allen. We'll have you home in a bit. Extend!"

With that last word, the hammer's handle grew and they all were headed towards a giant white thing that descended from the sky.

"W-What is that?" the boy shouted.

"That is our doorway home," Lavi smiled, entering the white thing and going straight to a door labeled "HOME".

As soon as they entered through the door, there stood a man dressed in all white with purple-black hair and glasses. When the man caught sight of those who came through the white thing, he dropped his coffee mug and clipboard and rushed up to them.

"Allen!" he cried.

"Komui, we need to get him to the hospital wing immediately," Bookman instructed.

"Right. We'll set up a private room so not to alarm the finders and other exorcists," Komui stated, leading the group towards the hospital, "Reever! Contact the head nurse to prepare a room for Allen!"

"On it chief!" Reever shouted back.

The group rushed through the corridors and passed open doorways, trying not to bump Allen into any unsuspecting finder. Almost bursting down the door to the hospital wing, the group felt like they were in the clear until Kanda suddenly tripped over a sleeping finder which sent Allen flying into a man dressed in black, pale complexion, black hair with a long white streak in it, and vampire fangs.

"Allen!" the man gasped, quickly grabbing the unconscious boy.

"Kro-chan! What are you doing here?" Lavi questioned.

"Getting my wounds looked at. More importantly, what are you doing just standing here? Shouldn't we be getting Allen to the nurses?" he replied, running off towards the main hospital room.

"Kr…ory…" Allen muttered.

"Hang in there Allen," Komui comforted running beside Krory.

Lavi was still carrying the two kids as they rushed into the main room. Nobody really paid attention to them though. Everyone in the room focused their attention on Allen's state. Including a girl of about 16 or 17 with short hair and red ankle bracelets. The instant she spotted the group and the single wounded boy, she sprinted over.

"Allen!" she screamed, flinging herself onto him.

The second she did, the boy opened his eyes and very slowly turned his head towards her. He slowly lifted his left hand and touched her cheek gently.

"L-Lena…l-lee…" he said as he smiled.

Lenalee grabbed his hand and held it to her face. She cried for several minutes holding his hand before he passed out again.

"Make way!" yelled an older woman dressed in a nurse's outfit.

Lenalee was basically ripped Allen's side as several nurses rushed up with a stretcher. They quickly placed Allen on the stretcher and disappeared into an empty room. After a few seconds of silence, Allen's blood curdling scream echoed through the hospital wing.

"Allen!" Lenalee screamed, running to the doors.

Lavi and Komui grabbed her before her kicked down the doors and dragged her screaming to Komui's office with the rest of the group following close behind. The two placed her on the sofa. Lenalee nearly stood right back up but Komui forced her to sit.

"Nee-san! What are doing? Let me go back to the infirmary and wait for Allen there!" Lenalee basically cried.

"And what? Let you break down the door the next time you hear him scream? You do that and you'll put his life in even more jeopardy!" Komui scolded.

Lenalee just gaped at him. She hadn't thought that what she nearly did would have caused Allen further harm. Staring at her brother for comfort, Lenalee let a few tears slide down her cheeks in silent sobs. Spotting the tears, Komui quickly pulled his younger sister into a tight, comforting hug. He slowly petted her short hair as she clung to him, trying to sooth her fears of losing yet another close friend.

"Shhh. It's going to be okay, Lenalee," Komui whispered, "You and I both know that Allen is tough and never goes down without a fight. He's going to be fine. You'll see. In a couple of weeks, he'll be running around here with his famous smile."

Komui slowly released his sister and walked behind his desk. He placed a single hand on the desk and sighed. What the hell happened? There was no reason that Allen should have been that badly beaten. And where the heck was Link? Wasn't he supposed to be with Allen at all times? Komui looked over at Lavi who was still holding the two kids. Who were they and why was Lavi carrying them? How were they connected to all of this?

"Lavi, who are those kids?" Komui finally asked.

"Huh? Oh yeah. Allen said something about them being accommodators of innocence before he passed out," Lavi stated, finally putting the kids down, "So hey. What are your names?"

"…."

Komui stared at the two kids. Accommodators? At such a young age? Komui sighed. It had been barely a year ago that Allen was the youngest exorcists the Order had. Now it seemed that innocence was picking younger and younger kids to fight the Earl. It just wasn't fair.

"Hey, kids! We can't keep calling you that so won't you please tell us your names?" Lavi smiled.

"…"

Lavi sighed. What was with these two? Were they that scary? Was that why they wouldn't speak?

"Je..Jeniya," The little girl finally said, "A-And this is my brother Ryan."

"Jeniya? That's a beautiful name," Lavi smiled.

"What were you two doing with Moyashi?" Yuu asked the two.

"Moy…ashi?" Jeniya questioned.

"Kanda means Allen," Komui stated, walking up to the two kids.

"The man just showed up at our village one day and started spouting nonsense about looking for something call innocence," Ryan scoffed.

Everyone stared at the kids. What had happened to them when Allen came to their village?

"Ryan," Lenalee finally voiced, "Can you please tell us what happened?"


	2. Chp 1: Flashback

Disclaimer: I don't own -Man. If I did…well, there would be deaths of several characters.

An Innocent Heart

*Flashback*

"Ryan! Lookie lookie! There's a guy with white hair outside the shop!" Jeniya shouted happily, running into their shop.

"What?" Ryan gasped.

Ever since their parents died, no one ever came to their shop. It was unheard of in the village. Two children barely old enough to live by themselves let alone work running and owning a shop. It had been months since anyone had bought anything from the shop. Ryan rushed out the door to make sure his sister wasn't seeing things. Sure enough, there was a man with pure white hair standing in front of the shop looking at what they had. Next to him was a man with blonde hair and two dots on his forehead. Ryan hesitated for a second. These two sure looked weird.

"Can I help you?" Ryan asked, casting that last thought aside.

The man with white hair turned to see Ryan standing by the door. Ryan watched as a gentle smile appeared on the man's face as he slowly approached him. Once he got close enough, Ryan noticed a red star on the man's forehead above his left eye along a red line running down from the star and down his cheek. Defiantly weird.

"Yes," the man stated as he brought himself down to look Ryan in the eye, "I'm in need of some information."

Ryan tensed. Was this man the man that was supposed take Ryan and his sister to the orphanage? Or was he going to separate them first? Ryan glared at the two men. There was no way that he was going to allow that. Suddenly, Ryan jumped inside the doorway of his shop and grabbed his crossbow. Ryan smirked. There was no way that they were going to be taking them today. Slowly, Ryan walked back out and pointed the crossbow at the first man's head. The instant he spotted the crossbow, the man jumped back.

"You are NOT going to take me and my sister to that wretched orphanage!" Ryan snapped.

"Whoa there! What are you talking about?" the man with white hair shouted, flinging his hands around in front of him, "I don't know anything about you or your sister and I'm defiantly not taking you to any orphanage!"

Ryan slowly lowered his crossbow, eyeing the strangers. If they weren't there to take them away, what kind of information could they need? Who were these two men?

"I was just going to ask if you knew anything about the Stone of Songs?" the white-haired man sighed.

"The Stone of Songs?" Ryan gasped.

Ryan quickly raised his crossbow again and scowled at the men. The white-haired man sighed again. That ticked Ryan off. How could he even ask such a thing and expect any other kind of reaction? The Stone of Songs was forbidden to talk about. If one was caught talking about it, the village elders almost always sentenced you to life in prison. It was even worse if you revealed its location to strangers.

"I suggest you leave, strangers," Ryan frowned, "unless you want to bring upon your own deaths."

With that, Ryan ducked back into the shop and locked the door. If these men were after the Stone of Songs, he needed to grab his sister and head to the temple as fast as possible. Even if it was forbidden to speak of, going to the temple of the stone was not. In fact, it was Ryan's family's job to protect the stone. Ryan bit his lip. That's how his parents died. They were trying to protect the stone from treasure hunters. They succeeded in saving the stone but died soon after due to their wounds. Ever since, the entire village helped look after the temple but it was Ryan and Jeniya's job to protect it now.

"Jeniya! It's time to go!" Ryan called out, running to the back of the shop.

"Time to go where?" she asked curiously.

"To go to the temple of the stone," Ryan stated.

He watched his little sister's eyes widened as she nodded. Quickly, she reached into a drawer and pulled out a necklace with a green pendant and slipped it over her head.

"I'm ready," she stated simply.

Ryan just nodded and took her hand and rushed out the back door. It wouldn't be long before the two men would find the temple. It never took long. The temple wasn't hidden and could be spotted from miles away. Ryan and Jeniya ran as fast as their young legs to take them. They just had to get there before the men did. They just had to.

But they didn't.

"Hey Link! Do you think this could be it? The Stone of Songs that Komui told us about?" Ryan heard the white-haired man's voice asked.

"How should I know? It's not acting up like Komui said it was so there's no way to be sure," the other man's voice sounded, sounding irritated.

"Then should we take it and hope that it is? Or wait till it acts up?" the white-haired man asked again.

"Again, why are you asking me?" the other sighed.

"Some help you are, you know that?" the white-haired man sighed.

Ryan tightened his grip on his crossbow. Dammit! They were too late! The men had gotten there before them. Now what? Just go out there and start shooting at them? Ryan looked at his sister. She looked just as distressed as him but at the same time looked like she was going to try something. Jeniya stood tall as she took a few deep breathes before walking out in front of the men.

"Hm? Oh! It's that little girl from earlier," the white-haired man smiled, holding out a hand for Jeniya, "How are you?"

Jeniya took a deep breath and Ryan covered his ears. He knew what was coming. Jeniya started to scream as high and as loud as she could. At the same time, her necklace's pendant started to glow a bright green. A few seconds after her screaming begun, the ground beneath the men started to bend and fold, rise and fall, and crave in. The men shouted out in their surprise and Ryan smirked. He never figured out how but whenever Jeniya wore that necklace, her voice could control nature. It was how the two had always defeated anyone who came for the stone. If they were late getting there, Jeniya would just open a hole in the earth underneath the intruders and let them fall to their deaths. True, neither enjoyed doing it but it was their duty.

Ryan walked up slowly to his sister, hands never truly leaving his ears. His job now was to stop her. Just when he thought it was alright for her to stop, something happened that never had before. Something of pure white flew up from the hole in the ground and wrapped around one of the many columns. What the hell was that thing? Ryan quickly stopped his sister's screams and the two of them stared in awe at the white thing. Then, suddenly, the two men flew up from the hole, the white-haired man the source of the white thing itself. Ryan fell backwards. What the hell were these men? No one had ever come back from his sister's scream. Jeniya was just as shocked. How were they still alive! They should hit the bottom before that white thing came up!

"That wasn't very nice, you two," the white-haired man scolded, gracefully landing on his feet, "Why did you attack us?"

Ryan and Jeniya just stared at the man. Who was he?

"Hey, Walker. You don't think that she's an accommodator of innocence, do you? That would defiantly explain how the hole came out of nowhere when she started to scream," the man, earlier called Link, stated.

"She might be. We probably should take her to the Order just to be sure, though," the white-haired man stated.

Ryan was on his feet instantly. He didn't understand anything they had just said except that they wanted to take his sister somewhere away from him. He pulled up his crossbow and pointed it at the white-haired man once again. The man just stared at it and raised an eyebrow. Ryan smirked. The man was probably thinking why he was pointing a crossbow at him with no arrow loaded. Little did the man know that Ryan's crossbow was special. All he had to do was imagine an arrow and aim. The second he fired, there was always an arrow of nothing but green light. True, it was made of just that green light but it was just as, if not more, powerful as a real arrow. Ryan placed his finger on the trigger and closed his eyes. It was just for a second though. The instant he opened his eyes, Ryan pulled the trigger sending one green arrow flying towards the white-haired man. Ryan grinned victoriously. There was no way that the man would dodge his arrow.

He was right. The man didn't dodge it. He stopped it with his right hand that was now completely covered in the white thing. Ryan dropped to his knees. This wasn't happening. There was no way that this was happening. It had to be a dream; just a bad dream.

The white-haired man slowly approached Ryan. Jeniya quickly flung herself in front of her big brother. There was no way that she was going to lose her only remaining family member to some treasure hunter. The man reached out his right hand and Jeniya closed her eyes. This was it.

"It's okay," the man said softly, gently placing his right hand on Jeniya's head, "We aren't here to hurt you two. Trust me on this. We're the good guys."

Jeniya looked up at the man's face. He was smiling in such a warm and gentle way. Was he actually telling the truth? If so, why was he after the Stone of Songs? Why was he here trying to ruin their lives?

"Why are you trying to take the stone, mister?" Jeniya questioned.

"Hm? Well, that's because it's made of innocence, my dear," the man said softly.

"Innocence?" Jeniya asked, quite confused.

"Yep. Just like my left arm," the man said, still smiling.

The man slowly pulled his left arm out from hiding behind the white cloak thing. It was completely black with long sword-like claws coming out where his fingers should have been. Jeniya's eyes widened in fear. It looked so scary and deadly to her. Jeniya forced her gaze back upon the man's face and saw that he was still smiling. What was his deal? Didn't it bother him to have that arm?

"This is only one phase of what my innocence looks like when activated," the man said, suddenly losing his smile as he placed his right hand at the top of his left arm.

Jeniya just watched at that same arm turned into a giant sword and the cloak turning into just basically white ribbons attached to a white glove-like thing that was attached to his right hand. Jeniya bit her lip. The sword was even more terrifying than the arm was. The man suddenly started to smile once again.

"Link! Come over here so I can show them that this sword is nothing to be afraid of," the man called out to his comrade.

"Why don't you do on yourself?" Link yelled back.

"You know very well that I can't do that," the man scowled, "now get you're arse over here."

The man called Link muttered a few curse words under his breath as he slowly approached the white-haired man. The man continued to smile as he quickly stabbed the other through the chest. Jeniya almost screamed. He just stabbed his own partner! How bloodthirsty was this man?

"It's okay, my dear," the white-haired man stated, "My sword can't hurt normal humans like you three. It only hurts those that have the truest of evils inside of them. And it really doesn't hurt the human self there either. It attacks the evil that lies inside."

"Why don't you do it on yourself then?" Ryan questioned, finally speaking up.

"Ah, he lives," the man chuckled, pulling his sword out of Link's chest, "Well, it's just as I said. My sword only hurts those that have the truest of evils inside of them. That is what dwells deep within me. If I stab myself, my sword tries to kill those evils, causing me severe pain."

Jeniya watched Link's eyes flash something she didn't quite understand. For a second, she could have swore that she saw something like a mix of fear and sorrow. It was only for a split second though.

"Then why on earth do you have that sword?" Ryan nearly shouted, "If you have something evil within you, then why do wield that sword?"

"Well, dear boy," the man said as the white cloak thing and sword disappeared, "To put it simply, I am an exorcist. Nothing more, nothing less."

Jeniya looked at the white-haired man. Why did he seem so sad behind that smile? Was it because of the evil he spoke of or something else entirely? The man slowly rolled up his left sleeve and revealed his nearly completely black arm.

"This is the form that my innocence decides to take when it is not activated," the man stated, pushing his sleeve back down.

Slowly, the man backed up from the two kids and made his way back over to the Stone of Songs. Jeniya quickly realized what he was going to do and rushed in front of the man.

"You can't take it! It's the sacred relic that the village guards! If you take it, the village will be ruined!" Jeniya nearly screamed at the man.

"If I take it then the village will be ruined? No no, my dear, it's quite the opposite," the man stated, walking right past Jeniya, "If I do not take it with me, the village with be ruined. No. It will be destroyed."

Jeniya froze. Destroyed? How? Why? Just because he didn't take the stone? How was that possible?

"Don't listen to him, Jeniya! He's trying to trick you so that you'll let him take the stone away!" Ryan shouted, slowly getting back onto his feet.

"Ryan…" Jeniya whispered, "Mister please don't take the stone!"

The man stopped and turned to the two kids, "Now this isn't fair at all. I know that you believe that this stone is what protects your village or something but if I leave it here horrible creatures called akuma will descend on this village to take the stone away to destroy it. At least if I take it, then it will be safe and not be destroyed. So will you just stop trying to fight with me on this and let me take the stone?"

Jeniya stared at the man. It looked like his patience was started to crack a little. But nothing this man said made any sense to her. First he had such terrifying weapons that he said were to purify evil while he said that he himself had evil in him. Then he says that if he doesn't take the stone, something else will and destroy it. But that didn't make it any better that he was taking it with him either. Jeniya couldn't figure out what to do. When she looked at the man, she wanted to believe him but his words made it so very hard to do so.

"Why are you two the only ones that came to protect the stone anyway?" the man asked.

"That's because it's our family and our family only duty to protect the stone!" Ryan shouted, running towards the man.

"Then where are your parents?" the man asked, suddenly quite curious.

Ryan stopped dead in his tracks. Why did the man need to know that? If he was a treasure hunter, why didn't he just take the stone while there was just two kids guarding it? Ryan clenched his fists. And why did he have to bring up their parents?

"They died protecting the stone," Ryan heard Jeniya say.

"Jeniya!" Ryan snapped, "Why on earth would you tell him that?"

"Because we can trust him," Jeniya stated.

"How can you be sure on that?" Ryan shouted at his younger sister.

"Think about it! If he really wasn't telling the truth, wouldn't have already taken the stone and left! He knows that there isn't much that we can do to stop him but yet he hasn't even touch the stone!" Jeniya yelled back.

Ryan fell silent again, trying to process what his sister just said. Jeniya sighed and walked up to the man. Looked like she had to do everything on this one.

"Would you at least tell us your name so that we can tell the villagers who stole the stone?" Jeniya asked, holding out her hand.

"Allen. Allen Walker," the man said, shaking the girl's tiny hand, "And it is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Jeniya."

Jeniya flinched at the mention of her name. This man was good at listening to others. Most people didn't notice through the kids' arguments their names but this man sure did.

"I hate to ask, but I'm curious," Jeniya questioned, "Exactly, how old are you, mister?"

Allen just laughed at the random question. He knew the reason for it though. With his white hair only, it made him appear to be at least five years older than he actually was. Unfortunately, that wasn't the only reason anymore. Allen knew it and hated to admit that his own innocence was slowly killing him by draining his life force whenever he was forced to fight at full power. He himself had to admit that there were days that he thought that he was at least twenty-five, though he knew better.

"I'm fifteen," Allen stated, chuckling a little at the young girl's shocked expression, "Soon to be sixteen in about three weeks."

"You're so young!" Jeniya exclaimed.

Allen just laughed a little at the girl, "Well, thank you for that. Anyways, I really should be taking the stone and going. And you two should start packing your things."

"Huh? Why?" Jeniya and Ryan asked.

"Because with you two being potential accommodators of innocence, I am required to take you with me back to the Order to be…examined I suppose is a good word to use," Allen explained, grabbing the stone and looking over at Link, "Link, bring the suitcase over here!"

"Suitcase?" Link asked, confused.

"Yes suitcase. The one I handed you this morning when we left the hotel," Allen stated, walking over to his partner.

"I put it back into the room once you went to breakfast," Link stated.

"You WHAT?" Allen shouted, startling the kids.

"What?" Link snapped, a little startled as well.

"That suitcase had the three other pieces of Innocence that we recovered in it! That's why I handed it to you. It was right after I told you that if we got into a fight with any akuma that you needed to take the innocence and run for the Ark!" Allen shouted at his partner, "Or do you not remember me putting the innocence in there last night!"

"Ah…no," Link confessed.

Allen tried taking a few deep breathes. This was not happening. This couldn't have been happening! Allen locked eyes with Link before thrusting the heavy stone into Link's hands.

"You take the stone back to the hotel and put it into the suitcase. Meet me at the Ark when you're done," Allen ordered, gently grabbing the two kids' hands then turning back to see the blonde haired boy about to complain, "And don't even start on how it's not your job. If we lose that innocence to the Earl, I'm going to tell everyone, including Leverrier, who's fault that was. Now, get going!"

With that, Link sprinted out of temple and towards the hotel.

"Honestly, for someone so high on the totem pole, you'd think that he'd have a better head on his shoulders," Allen sighed, leading the kids in the opposite direction.

The two kids were silent the entire time they were walking. There was so much on their minds to do much of anything other than walk. There was the first fact they had failed at protecting the stone and now they were being taken away to "the Order to be…examined". Both shivered at the thought. What had Allen meant by examined? Then there was the second fact of everything that Allen had said while they were in the temple. The village was going to be destroyed if they didn't get the stone out of there. How was that even possible and what would be the thing that destroyed it? And what exactly were "akuma"? It was too much for the kids to take in at once.

Never once while they were walking did Allen let go of their hands. It was like he didn't want to leave them alone as they entered this strange new world that he was dragging them into. Or that he was afraid of something. But what on earth could that be? From what they had seen, they could assume that Allen was very strong. So there was no way that there was anything that actually scared him, right?

Wrong.

"Damn," Allen cursed, suddenly breaking the silence that had surrounded them the entire four hours they had been walking.

Allen suddenly stopped walking and dropped the kids hands, raising his right hand to cover his left eye. The two kids looked at him with a little worry. What was wrong? Why had they stopped? How much farther did they have to go to get to this "Ark?"

"Shit…Why do you have to act up now, you damnable eye?" they heard Allen muttered.

Digging in his pocket with his left hand, the kids watched Allen pull out a yellow ball of about the size of his hand. Suddenly the ball shot up into the hair and started flying around in circles above them. When it finally came back down to eye level, the kids noticed its wings, tail, and cross pattern.

"Tim, I need you to go through the Ark and bring back some reinforcements," Allen started, holding the yellow ball close to his face.

The kids looked closely at the strange man next to him. What the hell was going on?

"Chief Komui, this is Allen Walker. I'm in the field at the moment and am in need of reinforcements. My left eye has started to act up indicating an akuma in the area but not within my sight range. I'm about five miles south, south-east of the gateway that is placed with a church in an abandoned village. I have six pieces of innocence in my possession. If you cannot send reinforcements, give me permission to open a gateway where I am. Send Timcampy back if you cannot send backup…if you have to, send Kanda," they heard Allen whisper to the yellow ball, "Okay Timcampy? Take this message STRAIGHT to Komui, okay? If he sends backup, stay there, okay?"

The yellow ball nodded and shot off towards where the gateway was. Allen sighed and looked around. There was a small river that passed through a small cliff nearby. That would have to do for a place to wait and hide. Allen couldn't risk fighting with Link somewhere else. Link was the only that could restrain him should the unthinkable happen while he was fighting the akuma. So for now, he had to hide.

Grabbing, the kids' hands again and dragged them into the cavern. It was big enough for the three of them but small enough that so long as the akuma didn't try to blow the cliff up, that Allen could fight on pretty much even terms with any akuma. Sighing, Allen let himself slide down the wall, right hand still covering his left eye. There was no reason to scare the kids with his hideous eye just yet. He'd have to wait till the akuma were closer.

It wasn't like he had to wait for long for that to happen. It had only been about five minutes before the akuma where in the range of his curse. Allen smirked and let his right hand drop to his side. It was going to be a long day.

Jeniya screamed when she looked over at Allen. There she saw what she deemed to be a terrifying sight. She saw Allen's left eye activated. Allen just smiled at her and stroked her hair slowly while Ryan trembled in horror.

"Don't worry about this eye," Allen stated, smiling the two kids, "This eye is what allows me to see the akuma."

"Wh-What are akuma, Mr. Walker," Ryan questioned, slowly regaining his composure.

Allen looked sternly at the two kids, "Akuma are our enemies creations. When an akuma is "born", a human must die first. You see, the maker, or as we know him, the Millennium Earl approaches a grieving who has just lost a love one suddenly. It is this lost that creates the one opportunity that the Earl has to create an akuma. It uses the darkness and sorrow in a grieving human's heart to manipulate them into calling their love one back to life. What he never tells them is that once they call them back, they themselves do upon their loves one's soul the worst possible fate ever. They turn them into an akuma where the soul of their love one is trapped forever, their feelings of distress becoming the fuel for the akuma. The Earl then orders the newly born akuma to kill the very person that called them back. They can not fight against this order. After they kill their loved one, the akuma wears that body as it's skin, thus hiding it from most of the world."

Jeniya shuddered at what she had just been told. Was this actually possible? It sounded something from a science fiction book than reality to her.

"But with the power of innocence, we can see them?" Ryan questioned, suddenly quite interested.

"No…" Allen stated, looking down.

"Then how can you-" Ryan started.

"I can only see them because I turned my own foster father into akuma," Allen stated, voice filled with sorrow.

"What? Then, if everything you've told us up until know is true, then how are you alive?" Ryan demanded.

"Because of my arm," Allen stated, looking directly at the young boy.

The was a moment of silence as the two kids took in everything Allen had told them.

"Tell us everything that happened when you turned your foster father into an…akuma," Jeniya said, staring at Allen with sorrow yet compassion filled eyes.

"I remember sitting next my foster father Mana's grave for several days. I didn't have any clue of what else to do. I still couldn't believe that Mana…that my father was really gone. That he had died.

~ _"Good Evening, little boy," a sinister voice sounded, "You looked rather sad."_

"_Wha?" a little Allen Walker stated, looking up to the source of the voice._

_There, leaning over Mana's grave was a man of large proportions in a strange outfit and top hat, wearing a never ending grin._

"_Would you like for me to bring your daddy back to life for you?" the strange, fat man asked the young boy._

"_What?" Allen asked the strange man, not believing what he had just heard._

"_I only need for you to call out to him, seeing that you have such a "special" bond," the fat man stated, emphasizing the word special, "Wouldn't it be great if you could just see him again?"_

"_He'll come back to life?" Allen questioned, astonished that his father would come back to him._

"_Of course!" the man exclaimed, "Come, let's call him back from your __**detestable**__ God."_

"_Will he…really hear me calling?" Allen questioned, suddenly nervous about whether or not he could actually make his voice loud enough for Mana to hear._

_The man just started to laugh and pointed at the ground. Suddenly, the fat man shot something into the ground and up rose a metal like cage thing with a strange looking skeleton on it, just floating there. Allen stood up and made his way slowly towards the skeleton. He was going to do it. He was going to bring his Mana back so he wouldn't have to face the world alone._

"_Now, just raise your voice and call back the one that you love back to you," the fat man said, standing next to the skeleton body._

_Allen trembled as he hesitated for just a second but his mind was set on what he was about to do._

"_MANAAA!" Allen screamed out, his voice reaching to ears for miles._

_Suddenly, there was a flash of a bright purple lightening that hit the skeleton body. The body then erupted in a purple flame while a purple light quickly wrote the name "MANA" on the skeleton's helmet like forehead._

"_Mana…" Allen sighed in relief. He had indeed come back to him._

"_A-Allen?" the skeleton spoke in Mana's voice._

"_Mana!" Allen nearly exclaimed, reaching out to hug his Mana like he used to do._

"_How…could you?" the Mana skeleton snapped, raising his voice to beyond what Mana had ever done, "HOW DARE YOU MAKE ME AN AKUMA? I curse you…Allen!" The skeleton holding Mana's soul then sliced its sharpened forearm down, cutting Allen from his forehead over his left eye and finally down his cheek. As soon as Allen fell to his knee in shock and pain, the skeleton holding Mana's soul wrapped something around him, trying to squeeze his very life out of his tiny little body. It pounded him into the ground while the voice of Mana, the voice of his father, scolded him in a sorrowfully angry voice. Allen was so frightened by the idea that his Mana was angry at him for bringing him back that he barely heard the fat man say, "…you're all mine now…". The rest of what the man said was a blur. Allen didn't care about whatever the fat man was saying. He was too focused on what his father kept yelling at him._

"_I curse you…ALLEN!" Mana's voice screeched through Allen's terrified young mind…~_

After that, all I remember is my left arm activating for the first time ever. It attacked the akuma that I had created Mana into. I can still remember calling out to Mana…to father, telling him to run as my hand rushed towards him, dragging my body behind it. Then…Mana told me to kill it. That's when my first activated.

"_Allen…please…destroy me," the voice of Mana Walker sounded from the skeleton's body._

_Allen's left eye suddenly started to focus on something. It focused on Mana's soul that was attached to the skeleton's body. His mind was what focused on Mana's tears…_

"_DESTROY ME, ALLEN!" Mana nearly screamed._

_Allen's left hand did just that, letting the boy watch as Mana Walker died for the second time._

"_MANA!" _

Almost immediately after that, I met my master. He was the one that trained me to be an exorcist," Allen said, pulling his legs up to meet his chest.

Both kids swallowed. What a horror of a tale Allen had just told. How on earth was he even able to keep going after all of that?

"My left eye is my curse from Mana. It allows me to see the soul of an akuma even if it is in a human form. And trust me on this," Allen slowly turned to the kids, showing his eye fully to them and just smiled his warmest smile, "you do NOT want to see the soul of an akuma. That is the most sickening and terrifying sight ever. It is like seeing Hell itself."

Allen slowly stood up and brushed off any dirt from his pants. He stretched and then held out his left arm as if preparing for something.

"They're coming. There's at least 50 level 2's…75 level 3's and…shit…there's a giant akuma in the mist of them," Allen cursed, activating his innocence for the second time that day, "I knew that it was going to be a long day…"

"Y-You can see all of the akuma at one time?" both children gasped.

"Yep. Now get ready. It's gonna get pretty bad around here. What I need you to do is to stay next to this cloak at ALL times. Got it?" Allen ordered.

"Don't you want us to fight as well?" Ryan questioned.

"No. You're innocence hasn't been made into a weapon. You'd only fight long enough to pass out and be killed. Oh! By the way, do NOT get hit by their attacks no matter what! Akuma have a virus that destroys living tissue within seconds. You get hit, you'll be dead within a minutes time," Allen warned, wrapping his cloak around the kids, "Just stay there and don't move no matter what!"

With that, Allen ran towards the entrance of the cavern where the akuma started to gather. The kids were about to follow when they noticed that the cloak wasn't leaving them. It finally hit them. That's how he got out the hole. He could stretch his white cloak to a certain degree. The two kids to listened to the fight as it commenced. Slowly, they just sat down on the ground and started to pray for the end of the fight to come quickly.

That was anything but the case. While neither could be sure, both were almost positive that it had to have been at least a day if not more since they had entered the cavern. Jeniya felt as if it had been even more than that. When the heck was that back up going to get there? There was no reason for them to be this late. The only reason why they would be was if-

Jeniya's line of thought was interrupted when a hand suddenly grabbed her ankle and started pulling her towards the other exit.

"JENIYA!" Ryan shouted, quickly grabbing his crossbow.

The next thing Ryan knew, he was lying on the ground fighting off unconsciousness. Jeniya's eyes widened as an akuma attacked Ryan from the back, knocking him out.

"RYAN!" Jeniya screamed.

With her scream, Jeniya's innocence activated and started an earthquake in its wake. Earth shot up from beneath the few intruding akuma, puncturing them completely, causing it rain a dark reddish-black blood. Jeniya rushed over to her brother and cradled his head in her lap. This was not happening. Jeniya could feel a wave of exhaustion suddenly race through her body. Allen was right. They couldn't fight. Not yet at least. Jeniya was just about ready to cry. Was there even a chance that they ever would?

"_**Found ya little twerps!**_" a eerie voice shouted from above them.

Jeniya screamed out and squeezed her eyes shut, awaiting for some sort of pain to come. But it never did. Slowly, Jeniya dared to open her eyes to see Allen standing above her, stars appearing on his skin as her wrapped his arms around her and her brother.

"A-Allen?" Jeniya said, voice shaking in fear.

Allen just smiled and placed his left hand over his heart. Suddenly, there was a rush of power that filled the area as Allen purified the virus from his body. It was starting to get harder to do, Allen noticed.

"D-Damn Noah…" Allen muttered, knowing all to well why it was so hard to purify his body now.

Jeniya stared at him. Didn't he just get hit by an attack? Shouldn't he be dead? What was this man? Jeniya was forced out of her thoughts again when Allen came crashing back down to her left. When he started to get back up, Jeniya noticed all of his wounds. How the hell was he even alive let alone moving?

He was slowing and he knew it. Allen could his body weakening with every move he made. This was not looking good.

"Clown Belt…" Allen muttered, grabbing his left arm with his right hand.

Allen quickly changed Edge into his exorcising blade and let the Clown Belt slowly wind itself around his body. Allen sighed inwardly. He was going to regret doing this but he needed to buy more time while his back up came. If they were coming that was.

Jeniya was about to stand up to help Allen when she felt a presence behind her. Slowly, Jeniya turned around to come face to face with a Level 3 akuma. All she saw was a flash of purple then nothing…

*Flashback end*

* * *

**Mizu: Ah. Finally done! I typed for a full day just to get this flashback part done with! It's a lot longer than i first planned to make it but I like it. Tell me what you think please!**


	3. Chp 2: HeartBreaking News

**Disclaimer: I don't own -Man. If I did…well, there would be deaths of several characters.**

* * *

An Innocent Heart

"The next thing we knew was that Mr. Walker was basically dead when we woke up and these three were standing next to us," Ryan stated, rubbing the back of his head.

Everyone was silent. So that was why Allen was so badly beaten up. They all knew that Allen could have very easily opened another gate where he was but he'd also risk letting akuma into the new headquarters. Komui punched the wall nearest him. If only he had been faster on dispatching Allen's back up. If only he could have sent more exorcists to his aide…

"Chief…" Lavi muttered, looking up at the frustrated Chinese man.

Lavi could completely understand his frustration. Lavi was just as frustrated about all of this as he was. The second that he and his small group stepped out towards where Allen said he was, they were surrounded by the second wave of akuma that were headed straight for Allen. Lavi bit his lip. If only they had been faster at destroying the akuma then maybe Allen would still have been alright. Lavi let out a frustrated sigh. But they weren't faster. They had come at the last second and barely were able to save Allen let alone the two kids. The only reason that those three were alive was because of Allen's stubborn mentality.

"Komui," a voice sounded from the doorway of the office, "Where's Walker?"

Every head turned to the source of the voice and spotted Link standing there, dirt and sweat clinging to his person. While his arrival meant that the innocence was most likely save, no one was relieved to see him. Most of them in that particular room despised the blonde haired man far before this and that still hadn't changed. But they knew that they needed to be relieved that Link was alive for Allen. Komui slowly approached the blonde man.

"Where are the innocence fragments that Allen and you managed to retrieve?" Komui asked sternly.

Link just held up a battered suitcase and presented it to the chief. Komui quickly took it and walked back over to his desk. He promptly pushed every single paper off his desk and gently placed the suitcase in their wake. Slowly, Komui opened the suitcase to reveal three pieces of raw innocence and a glowing stone that he assumed to be the Stone of Songs. Sighing in his relief that the innocence was save, Komui turned back to the rest.

"All the pieces are in here. Now," Komui stated looking around the room, "Who wants to take the pieces down to Hevlaska's chamber?"

"I'll do it," another voice sounded from the doorway.

"Timothy?" Lenalee questioned as the nine year old walked up to the desk.

"I just returned with Marie from our mission and have to head down there anyways," Timothy stated, closing the suitcase and struggling to lift it.

"Are you sure you want to?" Lavi asked, unsure whether or not the boy had heard what had happened.

"Why wouldn't I? I mean, it means that I get the credit of finding these pieces then!" The boy laughed.

"You did not! Mr. Walker did!" Jeniya shouted, angry at the rude boy.

"Walker did? Hey, where is Allen anyways?" the boy asked, looking around for the missing white-haired teen, "Normally, he's in here when he gets back from a mission with that two dot dude."

Everyone was silent. Who was going to tell the kid? They all knew that Timothy had a somewhat close to Allen already even though he hadn't been at the Order that long. Most of the time, whenever neither had a mission, Timothy could be found following Allen around when not being tutored. It was rather cute to most of them. It was like a little boy following his big brother around hoping that he would teach him all of his tricks. Kanda che'd.

"Che. If you're looking for that baka Moyashi, then he's in the infirmary. The baka nearly got himself killed again," Kanda stated brutally.

Everyone watched Timothy freeze as Kanda's words sunk into his skull. They watched as emotions of sorrow, fear, and anger flash in his eyes. Lenalee was about to get up to pull the young boy into a hug when Timothy straighten his body back up.

"I'm not worried about him," Timothy stated boldly, "There's no way that he'd die. He has too many promises to keep."

With those few words, Timothy dragged the suitcase off to Hevlaska's chamber. Everyone was shocked at the boy's confidence. Lenalee stood up and stared at the door way. She knew that she herself should believe in those words. There was no reason for them not to be true. Sighing, Lenalee made herself smile. She'd have to remember to thank that little boy later. Much later.

"Will you please tell us about something?" Jeniya asked, breaking the tense silence.

"What is it?" Lenalee asked, pasting Allen's famous smile on her own face.

"What's the evil that Mr. Walker spoke of? The one that dwells within him?" Ryan spoke up.

Everyone flinched. They all knew that they'd eventually have to tell them that Allen was a possible enemy and that if he turned against them to kill him but yet none of the exorcists could bring themselves to tell the two young accommodators. Allen had saved them after all, throwing his own life basically out the window. Tears started anew in all eyes but four. Kanda just stood there, scowling like always at the Moyashi's idiocy while Link just sighed and walked up to the two kids. Since none of the exorcists could say it, the inspector would have to. Not that it mattered to him. His only job was to watch Walker in case the Noah started to take over, not baby over some new sacrifices to the war.

"The evil you are referring to is-" Link started say when a loud knock distracted him.

All eyes turned to see the Head Nurse standing in the doorway, her face looking dismal. Lenalee was on her feet and at the door within seconds, followed by Lavi and Komui.

"How is Allen, Head Nurse?" Lenalee asked, voice filled with worry.

The Head Nurse just pushed through the doorway and sat on the couch, eyes glued on the floor. After a few minutes in which the tense silence returned to the room, even the great Kanda Yuu was worried. Komui knelt in front of the normally tough woman and placed a hand on top of her own.

"We managed to save him," the nurse said finally, never looking up.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief. For those long moments, they had all worried that none of them would ever see Allen's smiling, carefree face again. Kanda smirked. That Moyashi defiantly lived up to his name.

"But…" the Head nurse said, "I'm not quite sure on how to tell you all this…"

The feeling of relief suddenly faded and their worries returned tenfold. What was wrong? Allen was alive, wasn't he? What could be so bad about that? Shock rushed through the older exorcists as the realization came to be planted in their brains. Were all of his injuries and weak body allowing the Noah inside of him to free itself? Were they going to have to kill their comrade after trying so hard to save him? Kanda stalked up to the Head Nurse and pointed his Mugen at her face. He was starting to grow tired of everyone's persistent beating around the bush about the Moyashi.

"You better tell us what's wrong right now unless you want to end up on those hospital beds as well," Kanda spat out.

Everyone's eyes widened at Kanda's actions. Kanda, the same great Kanda Yuu that fought with Allen both verbally and physically every time they came in contact, was worried about the little man in the hospital. If the situation had been any different, it was quite possible that everyone in the room would have started to laugh at the young samurai.

"Put down your sword, Kanda," the Head Nurse sighed. She waited for him to do as she asked, although reluctantly, before she continued with what she had to tell him, "Like I said, we were able to save him. He's stable right now and if you wish to after I tell you everything, you are free to go visit him."

Lenalee sat next to the Head Nurse and Lavi joined Komui in front of her. What was wrong? If it had to do with his Noah self, she was to tell them immediately. If it wasn't that, what could it have been? The Head Nurse took a deep breath and just blurted out what she needed to tell them, "Allen Walker will not live much longer."

* * *

_**Mizu: Sorry for the short chapter. I'm kind of having a hard time sitting down just to write right now. I just lost a close family member so it might be a while before I can actually type up the rest of my ideas. On another note, I'm just going to tell you right now that I tend to write really long stories and this one will probably be one of those really long stories. So please stick with me throughout it! Reviews are welcomed and flames and critics are encouraged. Ciao for now! **_


	4. Chp 3: Saddening Explainations

Disclaimer: I don't own -Man. If I did…well, there would be deaths of several characters. *cough* Leverrier *cough*

An Innocent Heart

No one moved. No one even breathed. For the longest second that any of them had ever known, there was no sound. No breath. Nothing. Finally, Kanda snapped out of his daze and placed his hand back on Mugen.

"What the hell do you mean he won't live much longer? You just said that you were able to save him!" Kanda snapped at the older woman.

"K-Kanda's right!" Krory shouted out, "You just told us that he was alive and that we could see him!"

"Yes, I did tell you that but those words don't change the fact that what I just said is also true," the Head Nurse stated, finally looking up at the exorcists.

"H-How could he still be dying then?" Lenalee demanded, tears running freely down her cheeks.

"Komui…You and I both know why strong parasitic types are so rare," the Head Nurse said, focusing on the Chinese scientist.

Komui's eyes widened when he realized what she was having such a hard time to say. Slowly standing up on shaking legs, Komui made his way to sit behind his desk. Sinking down into his chair, Komui felt a whole new wave of guilt rush through him. Why had he let Allen go on those missions with no one but Link? Why?

"Chief…What's up?" Lavi asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"Allen Walker. Point-Breaker. Potential of becoming a General if deemed worthy. Parasitic type accommodator of the Innocence named the Crown Clown," Komui muttered, staring down at the desk.

"What are you rambling on about now, Mr. Sister Complex?" Kanda nearly spat out.

"The reasons behind why Allen isn't going to live much longer," Komui said, tilting his head back to look up at the ceiling and allowing his tears to roll off his face.

"How does his Innocence and rank have to do with anything?" Krory and Lavi demanded.

"Everything…" Lenalee whimpered.

"Huh?" the older males all gasped.

"Being the parasitic type wielder that he is, Allen is granted to have an enormous amount of power and high syncro-rate with his Innocence. This however, is a double-edged sword," the Head Nurse explained, "For Allen to be able to constantly use his Innocence, it requires huge amounts of energy. If he should run out of energy to power his Innocence, his innocence can start feeding off of his life force much in the same way that Kanda's Mugen does. However, unlike Kanda, Allen does not have control on when his innocence starts to feed off of him. Most likely, whenever Allen uses Edge, his innocence hardly feeds off of him and will deactivate itself unless he is in dire need of it. This is not the case with the second stage of his Innocence. His sword and its exorcising abilities take up a huge amount energy. To be able to wield his sword, Allen must have unconsciously or even possibly consciously agreed for his innocence to take his life force to use provided that it transferred back any of it that was not used. Add that to the fact that his cloak is constantly protecting him from damage and in short, whenever Allen walks onto the battle field, should he not know when to retreat, it could be his last battle."

The room returned to the tense silence yet again. The exorcists just stood there. This wasn't happening. Innocence killing their own accommodators wasn't so unheard of ever since the Fallen incident but this was…unbelievable. Krory bit his lip with his fangs. Being a parasitic type himself, this talk was almost personal. Krory knew that his innocence did the same thing, but, with him not being completing synched to his innocence, the only time it had done so was when he killed his only love and fought that Noah bastard Jasdebi.

"I'm sure you have noticed that Allen has begun to look older, correct?" Komui suddenly asked, "Ever since he became a Point Breaker, Allen has been forced to use that sword of his in almost every battle since then. Normally, for someone as young as Allen, with a lot of rest, Allen could slowly regain some of his lost life force. Not all but some. This rest, however, has never happened. With him being the host of the fourteenth Noah, Allen has had to push his body far beyond what it should have been. Even he himself has noticed the change in his body and appearance. Before I sent him on these past missions, he had confronted me about his worries…"

Komui stopped there. He really didn't need to tell them that he had told Allen what was going on. Nor did he have to tell him that Allen had requested assistance to accompany him on his missions because of it but then changed his mind almost instantly after he said asked for it. Komui bit his lip. He never understood why. Perhaps it was that Allen was afraid that he would be of harm if more people were added to his team. Komui shook his head. That didn't make any sense either.

"So Allen knew that his Innocence was killing him?" Lenalee gasped, "Then why did he keep using that blasted sword of his!"

"Because of the kids," Lavi whispered, "Right before Jeniya passed out, she said she saw Allen's Clown Belt wrap around his body to allow him to keep fighting. He must have started to run out of energy by then. After she passed out, Allen must have been forced to continue to fight for hours, maybe even a day before we could reach him."

They all seemed to agree with Lavi on this thought. To protect the children and the innocence that they wielded, Allen probably had to fight well beyond what he should have. Komui bit his lip. This was all his fault. He should've made Allen take Kanda or Lavi with him on his missions. If he had…If only he had forced them onto Allen, maybe the young teenager wouldn't be in the condition he was in.

"H-How much time to you think he has?" Komui asked, knowing no one else would.

Just as he expected, everyone shot their shocked faces at him. They all knew that his condition was bad but…a limit on time for such a young being? It just wasn't fair. Lenalee broke down into hysterics at the word time. Why did it have to be Allen? Why was it only him that had to bear the worse kind of pain? Lenalee's mind flashed back to when they first fought Road Camelot. The expression on Allen's face when Lenalee stopped him from destroying the akuma in time stuck in her mind. The desperation and anger that filled his eyes scared her beyond belief. Back then, Lenalee couldn't believed that Allen was so ready to throw his life away. To die just to complete one thing didn't make any sense to her then. Lenalee laughed. Then. That was right. After the Fallen incident, Lenalee finally understood at least a little. Before then she had always thought that Allen had only wanted to be a savior of everyone. That he was selfish and would gladly bear the brunt of anything to gain the satisfaction of being the one to save something. But not anymore. She didn't believe that anymore. No one did.

"I don't know," the Head Nurse whispered, "But…I can't imagine the little life force he has left holding out to see his seventeenth birthday."

Lavi swore under his breath. So a little over a year. Lavi tried to stop his tears from welling up in his eye. Only a year to live a whole life. What kind of fate was worse than that? He looked at everyone's faces. Everyone was taking it hard excluding Link. Even Yuu and the old panda, who had remained miraculously silent the entire time, had finally broke down. Yuu's eyes meant Lavi's one and he instinctively wiped the few tears that had escaped his eyes. Everything was confusing Lavi's sense of what was normal. First Yuu was worried over their little Moyashi friend and now he was crying. What was wrong in that picture? Lavi wiped his own eye unconsciously. What now? Would they tell Allen? Would Allen even be able to get around to enjoy the little life he had left? Lavi's eye settled back on Link. Would the bastards from Central force Allen to fight with his last year? Of course they would. They would probably send him around the world to set up gates all over the world so that even when he was gone they could still use him. Then they would probably lock him up in a secluded room or something so that when he was reaching his end, he couldn't place the memories of the fourteenth into someone else. Not like Allen would even do such a thing. He despised the fourteenth for ruining his life with such a passion that Lavi wouldn't have been surprised if Allen tried to kill him himself before he passed. Lavi shuddered at his last thought. Allen passing… They'd have to be careful with his death…Should anyone hear that cares for him to deeply they could bring on to him a fate worse than what already stood before him. Even if they are part of the Order, someone could call upon the Earl to bring Allen back and hence…Lavi nearly slapped himself. There was no way on this planet called Earth that anyone in the Order would. No…there was. There was actually two. Lavi's eye settled on the two new children. They didn't even really know him but he had already touched him with his strange power. They were attached to him already. Lavi quickly stood up and approached the two children. Basically falling to his knees again, Lavi wrapped his arms around the two crying kids. What they needed was Allen to walk him with his smile. To say that he was alright and that he convinced the Head Nurse to play a prank on all of them. But that wasn't going to happen. No. Allen wouldn't be coming into this room anytime soon. Nor would he be around long.

"I-I wanna see him!" Jeniya exclaimed suddenly, pushing herself further into Lavi's arms.

The Head Nurse quickly dried whatever tears had fallen and slowly stood up. This was never fun. Even though they weren't supposed to, everyone grew close to each other at the Order. They all knew that death was inevitable with what they were doing but it didn't matter. Other than those from Central, everyone sought each other for comfort and in doing so, they created bonds that could never be broken. The Head Nurse scanned everyone's faces. The exorcists were no different than anyone else at the Order.

"Alright. I'll take you all down to see him. But I warn you that it will not be a wonderful sight. He's stable yes but his wounds are still terrible. Also," the Head Nurse glared at Link, "Howard Link. You are not allowed into his room under any circumstances."

"What? You cannot prohibit me from fulfilling my duties of keeping constant watch over Walker!" Link demanded.

"I don't give a damn about your duties!" the nurse snapped, "Walker is in critical condition where his life hangs because of you and the bastards in Central preventing him from creating gates when he needs to! I do not wish for you to be in there until he awakes and is conscious of everything going on around him. You may sit outside of his door and look in from there but I will not allow the first thing he sees when he awakes to be a face of someone who deems his life a nuisance!"

With that, the Head Nurse led everyone towards the hospital wing. She knew that her outburst probably just cost her her job and life and just didn't care. She was so damn tired of Central being able to control everyone at the Order and treat them like they were simple sacrifices. Sighing as they approached the hospital wing, the Head Nurse called for someone to bring Howard Link a chair and place it outside Allen's door. She was dead serious with what she said. The nurse made a mental note to make sure that there was always a nurse near the room to force the stubborn Crow out of Allen's room.

Once Link sat in his chair and made no attempt to move, the Head Nurse pushed open Allen's door. The nurse couldn't look. No matter what she had already seen, she couldn't bring herself to look at the boy on the bed near the window. She could feel the air rush past her as most of the exorcists flew into the room and to his side. Once they all entered, the nurse shut the door. Glaring at Link once more, the nurse headed down to her office. She needed to be alone.

Lenalee rushed into the room with everyone but Kanda and Bookman. She needed to see him, she told herself, saying that she didn't care how he looked. That thought was soon nearly proven wrong. The nurse hadn't lied. Lenalee sunk to her knees as soon as her gaze landed on him. She wasn't alone. The only the Bookmen and Kanda managed to stay on their feet. It was all true. There wasn't anything they could do. Allen was dying. He was dying a slow, long, painful death. Tears fell to the floor once more but no one knew each tears came from who. No one cared. No one at all cared about their tears nor the source of them. No one did then and no one ever would.

_**Mizu: I can't believe how well this story is coming along. Right now, I'm really glad that it is because I can get lost in my writings which is what I need. Although I kind of wish that I could be a little nicer to Allen but it suit's the story. And truthfully, he's gone through so much worse already. Thanks for reading my story so far and stick with me to the end. Reviews are welcomed and flames and critics are encouraged. Ciao for now!**_


	5. Chp 4: Relief

Disclaimer: I don't own -Man. If I did…well, there would be deaths of several characters.

An Innocent Heart

Lavi had to look away from the sight. The nurse truly hadn't lied to them. Allen's wounds truly were terrible. No, they were horrendous. If Allen had been a normal human, there would have been no way that he'd have lived this long. Slowly, Lavi forced himself to look at Allen. He didn't want to but it was his job as the successor of Bookman. To record the events of the war. Unfortunately for him, that also meant recording all the deaths of the Order.

Allen laid in the hospital bed, chest very slowly rising and falling with each of his weak breathes. There were no sheets to cover his body. His once beautiful, pure white hair was still stained with both his and the akumas' blood. Apparently none of the nurses or doctors took the time to clean his hair, only wishing to get out of the room before they fainted. Allen's face too was stained with blood. There were lines where the blood ran down his face covering his eyes and over his lips. Along with the blood, his faces was covered in bruises. There was a huge bruise that covered his left eye. Even his lips had a few bruises on them from where he had bitten into them. On his neck were the marks of an akuma's hand or something along that manner of which it used to try and strangle the boy. Down to his chest where there was more blood than not. The scar that he had gained from stabbing himself with his exorcising blade had new deep gashes covering it. His abdomen was stained in his blood from the many gashes that it had sustained. His right arm was torn up and rubbed almost raw on one side; his left twitched every now and then from the few injuries that it had sustained as well.

No one could see any of the markings that covered his left shoulder due to a huge cut that took up much of his left chest. Allen still wore his pants, though it didn't seemed to make much difference. The thin and useless piece of cloth barely covered his nether region while the rest just seemed to disintegrate more and more the further down his legs it went. Half way down his calf was were the pants stopped and injures continued. Even his legs weren't spared from injury. The remainder of his legs where covered in bruises and blood from where the akuma had held onto him. The bottom of his feet were covered in cuts and scrapes from having to fight after his boots had been destroyed. There was no part of his body that had not been injured in his fight for life. Even the skin that had remained injury and blood free was affected. The little skin that was visible to the eyes of his comrades was so much paler than normal. All in all, to say that Allen was a mess would have been the understatement of the entire millennium.

Komui covered his mouth with his hand. The sight of the pale boy covered in his and the akumas' blood was almost too much. He felt the guilt rush through his veins as he stared at the young teen. How was it even possible for him to be alive? Even for a parasitic type exorcist, all of his injuries should have equaled in his death. There was no reasonable explanation for why he still clung to life. Komui watched the slow rise and fall of Allen's chest and realized why he was still alive. His innocence. The same innocence that was draining his life had saved it. It was so bittersweet. That piece of innocence in his heart kept Allen clinging to his life for this long. And, knowing Allen as well as he did, Komui knew that Allen would continue to cling to that life for as long as he could.

Every single eye was glued to Allen as he laid on the bed. They had never seen the boy look more fragile before. Nor had they ever seen him look as peaceful as he did. He was blissfully unconscious of all the pain that would have most likely been filling his small body. That was one thing they could all be grateful about. Allen wasn't feeling any pain for the moment and hopefully never would. Suddenly, Allen's body shivered from the cold it now felt. Everyone jumped at the sudden movement from the silent boy. It took a moment for them to realize what had caused it. Quickly, Kanda and Lavi were sent out of the room to search for several blankets to cover the poor boy. The last thing they wanted the boy to be was uncomfortable. Kanda nearly laughed. After all he had ever said about the Moyashi, here he was still worried about the little idiot. What the hell was going on with him?

Within moments, the two had returned and covered the shivering boy with several mismatched blankets. It took a few moments but soon, Allen's body calmed. During all of this, no one had said anything except to Lavi and Kanda before they went to grab a few blankets. They were all to afraid. Afraid that if they said anything that Allen would awake to the pain that coursed through his body. So they kept silent, trying very hard not to cry. That will not to cry was tested when Allen suddenly furrowed his eye brows together, obviously something wrong inside of his mind. Suddenly, there was a type of loud gurgling coming from Allen's stomach. Everyone but the two kids broke down in laughter. After all of this. After all the trouble and worry he had put them through, Allen, though unconscious, managed to brighten the mood around him.

"Man, Allen sure has some sick sense of timing," Lavi laughed, wiping a stray tear from his eye, "You'd think that he'd never eaten anything in his life the way his stomach just growled."

Everyone just nodded in agreement. No matter how worried they had been about what was going to happen, they just couldn't stay worried after hearing that. Allen was going to be alright. True, he probably didn't have more than a year left, but he was going to be alright. That was, if he got some food in him. Almost as quickly as they had started laughing, everyone fell silent. How was he going to eat? Allen had to eat. There was no ifs, ands, or buts about it. If Allen didn't eat EVERY day, he wouldn't live very long. But since he was unconscious, how were they going to get the food into him? They had learned from their experiences with Krory and his never-ending stomach growling that the doctors couldn't feed him until he awoke. For Krory, that was okay. Although he was a parasitic type, him not eating wasn't any big deal. Now Allen not eating? That was a totally different thing.

"How the hell are we going to feed him?" Krory and Lavi shouted, starting to freak out.

Lenalee joined them in their fretting soon followed by Komui. Even Bookman and Kanda were a little worried. As the four basically pulled their hair out, Allen's stomach started to growl louder. With the louder growl came a quiet, pitiful whimper. Everyone fell silent. Allen's face started to look a little pained. He must have been starving. Of course! He probably hadn't eaten since that breakfast before he left to go after that fuckin' stone! So not only did he run out of energy in his battles, he probably barely had any to begin with. And now, if they didn't get food into him soon, Allen was going to die a lot sooner than expected.

Jeniya and Ryan looked back and forth between Allen and his comrades. What was going on with them? Why were they suddenly freaking out so badly? They couldn't help but notice Allen's face as his stomach growled. Why was it so important for him to eat right then and there? Sighing, Ryan tried to grab onto Komui's lab jacket.

"Why don't you just feed him some sort of soup? Something that has a lot of nutrients in it but is mostly liquid?" Ryan asked, a little ticked off, "I do that all the time when Jeniya gets too sick to get out of bed and keeps passing out."

Everyone stared at the boy. That could work but…

"We'd have to feed him almost constantly with that method…" they all muttered.

"Huh?" Ryan and Jeniya gaped. How much could one man eat?

"Right! We have no choice then! We shall take turns feeding him!" Komui announced, "Now, someone go to Jerry and tell him to bring enough soup for Allen!"

The exorcists stared each other. Who was going to do that? Freak out the poor chef with the thought of a dying Allen in need a soup? All eyes settled on the doorway and feral grins appeared on all but three faces. Link.

" ~Link~ !" Lavi and Lenalee half sang as they headed out the door.

After a few seconds, there was a loud, "WHAT?" and a few loud sounds of what they figured to be Lenalee kicking the Crow with her Dark Boots. Lenalee and Lavi walked back into the room, smiling widely. Revenge was sweet. Very, VERY sweet indeed.

It didn't take long for a loud rumbling to fill the hospital wing. Almost every other patient and nurse stuck there heads out of doorways trying to figure out what was going on. The only thing they saw was a flash of purple and pink as Jerry, the Order's best chef, sped down the hallways, giant spot of freshly made soup in his hands.


	6. Chp 5: Never Ending Hunger

Disclaimer: I don't own -Man. If I did…well, there would be deaths of several characters. *cough* Tyki *cough*

* * *

An Innocent Heart

"ALLEN!" the chef screamed as he basically knocked down the door to the room, "Don't you worry, little Allen! Jerry's here!"

Everyone jumped out of the chef's way as he rushed over to the starving boy's side. Digging out a spoon from nowhere, Jerry held a spoonful of soup by Allen's mouth. When Allen didn't move, Jerry brought it closer as if to coax the boy into eating. Ryan and Jeniya just gaped at them. What the hell was wrong with all of them? Why didn't they just open his mouth and-

Their thoughts were interrupted as Allen slowly opened in mouth, though still unconscious. Jerry smiled as the weak boy started to eat. Well, slowly for Allen. It was an incredible speed for Ryan and Jeniya who stood there dumbfounded as Jerry was hurriedly pouring more and more soup into the boy's mouth. What was he trying to do? Drown the boy?

"Do think this will be able to keep Allen's sated until he wakes?" Komui asked, joining Jerry at his side.

"Who knows? Allen normally eats so much and so fast that this might be too slow for him. True, he is getting the food that he needs but I'm just a little worried at how slow he's eating," Jerry said as he switched the spoon for a ladle, "He's even trying to eat the spoon. There's no way that I can feed him as fast as he needs to be fed."

"Plus there's the fact that he'll probably need to be fed every hour on the hour," Komui agreed, "You can't be down here all day. There'd be no one to cook for the Order then."

"We'll just have to do what you said Komui," Lavi said with a smile, taking the ladle from Jerry, "We'll just have to take turns feeding him."

"I'd be careful, Lavi," Krory stated, appearing next to him, "Allen's probably starving so now that food is reaching his stomach, he may wake up or even start trying to eat something other than the ladle."

"Yeah, I gotch- AH!" Lavi started to say, not noticing his hand next to Allen's mouth until Allen bit down on a finger, "Damn little Moyashi! I get that you're hungry but don't take it out on me!"

Lavi dipped the ladle back into the pot only to discover that it was already empty. Everyone stared at the pot and then back at Allen. His stomach was still growling, though slightly quieter, while they stared at the empty pot. How the hell were they going to keep up with his appetite? Ryan and Jeniya's jaws dropped. How the hell did he eat so much in so little time? Jerry quickly got up and sprinted back down the hallways to make some more soup for his favorite exorcist. Lavi and Komui sighed. This was going to be a long next couple of days.

*three weeks later*

Lavi and Komui hadn't been wrong. Feeding Allen proved to be very tiresome especially when Allen started to refuse the soup after having it for a week and a half. It was true to say that Allen wasn't a picking eater in any sense of the words but he did grow tired of the same thing if he had it to often, this excluding his favorite food in the world. It still didn't make things any easier when Lenalee started to freak out when Allen turned green after one sip of the soup. At the sounds of her screams, nurses and doctors flew through the room, fearing the worse only to find Lenalee shaking Allen who was refusing to eat any more of the soup. From that day on, Jerry made sure to rotate what kind of soup he made for Allen.

Allen still hadn't awoken though, even after three weeks of rest. His wounds had completely sealed, leaving nothing but scars behind. Slowly but surely, his strength seemed to be returning to him. He never seemed to be in any pain during the weeks of his rest but it didn't put any of their fears to rest. No matter what they did, no one could get his stomach to silence since the first day. They just couldn't get enough food into his stomach fast enough. Komui had even told Allen's friends in the science department everything so that they would go to his room and help with trying to keep him fed. There was always someone in the room feeding him. Even as the nurses did their daily check ups on him, there was normally someone there spooning soup into his mouth.

Slowly but surely, Christmas had snuck up on the Order. It was the one time of year that everyone could have been guaranteed to be at the Order. There were no missions unless there was an immediate threat to potential Innocence. Every finder and exorcist returned to the closest headquarters to spend the holy holiday. Lenalee and Lavi were no exceptions. They hurried their group of finders to the closest gate of the Ark. They wanted to reach headquarters before the twenty-fifth of the month. There was only reason for this. The two exorcists were hoping that Allen would awake on his assumed birthday. That was something that many of their comrades too wished.

Unfortunately, that wish didn't seem like it was going to come true. Lenalee was the first of many to rush through the door leading to Allen's room. There, just like he had been for the past three weeks, was Allen laying on his bed in peaceful sleep. Her breath caught in her throat. Every time she came running through the door, Lenalee couldn't help but to expect Allen to shoot up in his bed with his startled silver eyes staring at her. Every time, though, this never happened. Lenalee sighed, walking up to a young man with wild brown hair, spiral-like glasses, and headphones on top of his head. The man, who was current feeder of Allen, turned to look at the female exorcist.

"Hey Lenalee!" the man beamed, a huge smile appearing on his face.

"Hi Johnny. Why don't you go to the cafeteria and enjoy the party? It is Christmas Eve after all," Lenalee smiled, "Don't worry about Allen. I'll be right here to make sure he enjoys his special Christmas soup that Jerry made for him."

"K~!" the man stated, smiling as he stood up from his seat.

Johnny quickly made his way to the door before turning around to look at Lenalee. Lenalee sat down in his chair and picked up the ladle the Johnny had placed in a near by pot. Sensing Johnny's eyes staring at her, Lenalee turned her head to look at the young scientist.

"What's wrong, Johnny?" Lenalee asked.

"Is…" Johnny started to ask, pausing to bite his lip, "Is Allen ever going to wake up, Lenalee?"

Lenalee froze for a second then pasting her version of Allen's famous smile on her face before saying, "Of course he is, Johnny. I just know that he'll be up and awake for his birthday tomorrow."

Seeming to find her answer satisfactory, Johnny smiled and hurried down the hallway towards the cafeteria. With doing so, Johnny left Lenalee in Allen's room by herself. Lenalee blushed at the thought of being in Allen's room. Alone. Giving a chuckle at what Komui would think about it, Lenalee dipped the ladle into Allen's soup and slowly brought it to his lips. She watched in awe as Allen slowly parted his lips as his body quickly downed the warm liquid, trying to fill his bottomless pit of a stomach.

"I wish you could do this by yourself, Allen. Then your stomach would stop growling and you'd get better so much faster," Lenalee said aloud.

Lenalee sighed to herself. Of course she knew that it was highly unlikely. If Allen hadn't awoken by then, what were the chances of him waking any time soon? Feeling tears starting to form in her eyes, Lenalee bit her lip. She had to be strong. Strong enough for the both of them.

"So until you can feed yourself, I'll be here to do that for you," Lenalee said, mostly to herself.

Suddenly, as if to answer her, Allen's body started to move. Lenalee jumped backwards in surprise. Was he waking up? No. Lenalee watched as Allen's body moved in tiny, random spasms, mostly in his arms and legs. She watched as his face took on a fearful or pained look. Allen wasn't waking up. He was having a nightmare.

* * *

**_Mizu: Yay! This chapter is finished. True, probably no where near as well written as the previous chapters but done nonetheless. This chapter is really just a funny filler thing anyways._**

**_Komui: Why'd you leave my Lenalee in his room ALONE?_**

**_Mizu: Cause I knew that it would freak you out and I find your insane, murderous rage hilarious. Anyways, ignoring Komui, reviews are, as always, very welcomed. Ciao for now!_**


	7. Chp 6: Nightmare

Disclaimer: I don't own -Man. If I did…well, there would be deaths of several characters.

* * *

An Innocent Heart

*Inside Allen's dream*

It was so cold. Allen rubbed his arms furiously trying to warm his numb body. Truthfully, it wasn't that unusual for him to be cold but, for whatever reason, he still felt the need to rub his arms for warmth. Sighing, Allen looked around his new surroundings. Where was he? Allen closed his eyes and tried to remember. The last thing he remembered was Lenalee crying as Krory carried him into the infirmary.

Allen's eyes shot open. Lenalee! Where was she? Allen frantically looked around for the female exorcist. He needed to tell her that he was ok. He was sure that she must have been worried about him. After concluding that Lenalee was no where in sight, the young man felt a slight panic wave race through him. Why wasn't she there? She always came to stay by him whenever he was sick or injured. Biting his lip, Allen started to run forward in the strange realm. It wasn't just Lenalee though. There was no one in sight.

As he ran, Allen started to notice a few things. One, he was surrounded by nothing but white except for the black floor that he stood on. Two, he didn't seem to be going anywhere even though he was running at full speed. Three, his stomach wouldn't stop growling. When was the last time that he had eaten? Trying to quiet his unhappy stomach, Allen kept running, hoping to reach something. Anything.

"**Why do you keep running? It's pointless. You won't be getting anywhere anytime soon,**" a voice almost hissed.

Allen skidded to a stop. Where had that voice come from? Allen's eyes darted back and forth, trying to scan the nonexistent surroundings. Gritting his teeth, Allen started to understand where he was. It was just a dream.

"And not a very good one either," Allen spat out.

He _**HATED **_these dreams of his. Whenever he had these kinds of dreams, he never remembered them until he returned into the dream world. Then he would realize it too late and keep making the same mistakes by following…who was it that he always followed? Allen bit his lip and ran a hand through his snow white hair. That was it. He knew it was a bad dream again and that he'd remember something in it too late after following…someone.

"Oi! Allen! Why are you just standing there like an idiot?" a familiar voice sounded.

Allen's eyes widened the second he heard the familiar voice, "M-Mana?"

"Hurry it up, slow poke, *llen!" Mana said, smiling.

He was smiling. Mana was smiling such a wonderful smile and that smile was directed to him. To him. Allen could feel tears start to run down his face. He reached out and tried to reach his beloved father. This time…this time he'd hold onto him till the end.

"I take back what I just said. This dream is good. This is such a good dream!" Allen nearly shouted, smiling a truly happy smile.

"Let's go ***en!" Mana called out, holding out his hand.

Allen was just about to grab onto his father's gloved hand when something struck him. What had Mana been calling him? Something wasn't right…

"***** what's wrong? Don't you want to be with me?" Mana asked, pasting a fake frown onto his face.

"Mana…say my name again," Allen whimpered in response.

"*****"

Allen bit down hard on his lip and slowly backed away. He was the one. Allen just knew it. Mana was the one that he would always follow and then something horrid would always happen. Allen stared down at the ground. Not this time though.

"*****?" Mana said, or at least, Allen thought he said.

"Damn it all," Allen cursed as he turned his back on Mana, "I'm sorry, Mana… It's just…"

Allen took a deep breath and took off running away from the Mana that stood behind him.

"It's just your path is no longer mine…" Allen whispered as the Mana disappeared behind him.

Trying to keep his tears from falling, Allen kept running. He wanted to go. How he wanted to turn around and laugh as he said, "Just kidding~!" Why couldn't it have been that way? Why not? Allen found his answer as he saw something coming into sight. A mirror. Allen skidded to a stop and bit his lip again.

"So you're the one that's messing with my head," Allen spat.

Slowly, a shadow appeared in the mirror. It had huge white, empty eyes and a white mouth that never moved. Allen tried to turn away. He hated mirrors now because of that shadow. He'd always be in that mirror standing next to him.

"_**Where do you think that you're going?**_" the voice sounded again.

Allen could feel something turn his face back towards the mirror. He tried to fight it but lost miserably. Sighing, Allen looked straight into the mirror.

"_**You know that you can't fight it. Why don't you just give up already, boy? If you just gave up, then all of this pain that you feel would go away. You'd be free finally,**_" the voice that seemed to be coming from the shadow whispered into Allen's ear.

"Damn you," Allen spat, spitting at the mirror.

"_**If you'd just stop fighting, I could make all of your wishes come true,**_" the shadow tempted.

"Wishes? The only wish I have is for you to leave me alone!" Allen shouted at the mirror.

"_**I could get you that female exorcist that you lust after,**_" the shadow said as if ignoring Allen.

Allen's eyes widened, "You leave Lenalee out of all of this!"

"_**She'd be all yours. I could make it that she'd never be able to be with anyone but you,**_" the shadow snickered.

"Shut up!" Allen shouted again.

"_**I could destroy all of your most hated enemies for you. Then you'd never have to worry about risking your life to save those so called "friends" of yours.**_"

"S-So called? What do you mean, you damn shadow!"

"_**They claim to be your "friends" when in reality they just want to see you die so that you can't threaten them anymore. They don't really care about you or what you can do. They just care that you are still an innocence wielder and that you could change into an enemy that they can kill.**_"

"Shut up!"

"_**If you just let me out, I can kill of them before they kill you. Of course, I'd let you have a taste of that female exorcist. You could do whatever you wish with her and the second you're done with her, I'll gladly dispose of her. I promise that none of them would feel any pain as they die.**_"

"I said shut up!"

"_**You wouldn't have to be followed around by that annoying Crow anymore.**_"

"Shut up!"

"_**You'd never feel any pain again. You'd never have to deal with that idiot samurai trying to slice you to pieces. You'd be free of that annoying Bookman and his apprentice who only want to record what you'll do for this despicable war. No more of the idiots who call themselves scientists. No more robots. No more akuma. No more of the Earl. Isn't that what you want? The Earl to just disappear? I can make that happen. All you have to do is give up this pointless fight.**_"

"_SHUT UP!"_

Allen punched the mirror as hard as he could, shattering it into a million pieces. Breathing hard, Allen brought the same hand up to hold his head. He had to wake himself up. He had to get out of this horrid dream. Before the shadow came back.

"Allen?" a sweet female voice called out.

Allen quickly turned around, eyes widening. There stood Lenalee. Her greenish-black hair, back to its original length, surrounded her entire body. She wore a beautiful blue kimono that clung to her body in a very attracting way. Allen felt his mouth dry out. She was simply beautiful. Taking a hesitant step closer, Allen locked eyes with the girl that he loved. They were so full of live. So happy. So…so beautiful.

"Allen, there you are! Everyone's waiting for you so we can start your birthday party!" Lenalee smiled.

Allen quickened his pace. Forgetting everything about the fake Mana and the horrid shadow, Allen hurried towards the fellow exorcist. She was there to lead him out of that horrid dream. He just knew it.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Allen froze. There she stood. Allen had made it to her. Allen fearfully stared at his left arm. His innocence had activated. His cloak was slowly flowing behind him and trying to wrap itself around his limbs like it had so many times in battle. Following his left arm with his eyes, Allen saw where his fingers became the sword-like claws. There was something completely different about them this time, though. There was blood flowing down them. A human's blood. Lenalee's blood.

Allen made himself continue down up the sword-like claws until his saw his beloved Lenalee. His claws went straight through her body in five places. Allen stared at Lenalee's face. She was still smiling. Allen's eyes widened in fear. She was smiling at him. Why?

"Why? Why do you keep smiling, Lenalee?" Allen screamed out, trying to pull his left arm away from his beloved Lenalee.

Allen's eye suddenly focused a small flash of light nearby. Allen watched as the white cloak, his Clown Belt, out from him and headed towards something behind Lenalee. Allen's eyes widened further when he realized what the Clown Belt was after. Behind Lenalee stood all of his friends from the Order. They were all in party attire. Above them was a banner. Allen felt his tears start to roll down his cheeks again. As his Clown Belt slaughtered all of his other friends, Allen felt a warm hand turn his head back to face Lenalee. She slowly stroke his scarred cheek.

"W-Why Lenalee?" Allen whimpered, staring into her eyes that were now losing their light.

She just smiled at him, "Happy Birthday, Allen!"

At that exact moment, Allen's left arm ripped right through his love's body.

"LENALEE!" Allen screamed out, his heart feeling like it too had just been ripped out of his chest.

*In the real world*

Allen shot up in his bed, screaming out the name of the one that had just lost. Next thing he knew, there was a pair of warm, soft arms that encircled his body.

"I'm right here," a voice sounded. Her voice, "I'm right here, Allen."

* * *

_**Mizu: Done. This one really wasn't that hard to get down. Typed up in a total of thirty minutes in hopes of relieving my stress. I wrote this ENTIRE chapter right before I had to leave for a funeral. I'm actually it turned out so...not as sadistic as I'm feeling. Yay for that I suppose. **_

**_Komui: WHY MY LENALEE?_**

**_Mizu: Cause this is an AllenXLenalee pairing story so I have to reveal how he feels for her somehow. I thought that this was the best time. Plus...I like watching you freak out._**

**_Allen: W-Why did you have to make me do that to her though!_**

**_Mizu: Just cause it seemed to fit in with my mood at the time. _**

**_Komui: *pulls out giant drill and octopus gun* You. Shall. PAY!_**

**_Mizu: *looks at the weapons before grabbing a talisman (can't spell today) and seals Komui inside the barrier* Anyways, reviews, be they praise or critics, are extremely welcomed. _**

**_Komui: LET ME OUT OF HERE!_**

**_Allen: Are you going to ever let him back out of there?_**

**_Mizu: Of course. At the end of the next chapter I will maybe let him out. Ciao for now peoples!_**


	8. Chp 7: Waking to Embarrassment

Disclaimer: I don't own -Man. If I did…well, there would be deaths of several characters. *cough* the villagers that were mean to Krory *cough*.

* * *

An Innocent Heart

The second that he started having a nightmare, Lenalee tried her best to calm the unconscious boy. Sitting on the edge of his bed, Lenalee slowly rubbed his left arm with one hand, being careful of all the wounds that Komui had refused to fix until Allen woke up. With her other hand, Lenalee slowly stroked his hair. She kept her eyes locked on his face.

"M-Mana…" Allen muttered.

Lenalee gasped. He spoke! Allen finally said something. Granted it was in his sleep, but it was still something. Smiling, Lenalee bent down and gently kissed Allen's forehead. He was going to wake soon; she just knew it. Looking up from Allen, Lenalee checked the time. 11:59 p.m. Christmas Eve. Keeping her eyes on the clock, she counted down the seconds until Allen's assumed birthday. Feeling a few tears rolling out of her eyes, Lenalee looked back down at Allen's face. Midnight.

"Happy birthday, Allen," Lenalee said to the white-haired boy, gently kissing his cheek.

The next few seconds were a blur to her. As soon as she sat back up, Allen said something else. Well, he actually screamed out something.

"LENALEE!" Allen screamed out on the top of his lungs.

As the boy shouted out her name, he shot up into a sitting position. Lenalee stared at the now awoken boy before she realized he had just screamed out her name. The female exorcist quickly wrapped her arms around the frightened boy.

"I'm right here," she comforted, pulling the boy closer to her body and letting her tears fall freely, "I'm right here, Allen."

"L-Lenalee?" the boy gasped before letting his own tears fall.

Holding the boy close, Lenalee let Allen cry away all of his fears. She felt his hands grasp at the material on her back as he clung to her. Smiling, Lenalee rubbed small circles on his back, trying to comfort the young man.

After about ten minutes, Allen finally calmed down. There were no more tears coming from his eyes. There was just relief and slight confusion in them. Slowly sitting all the way up, Allen looked around the room. Where was he now?

"Lenalee, where am I?" Allen asked.

"The hospital wing. The doctors gave you your own room," Lenalee explained.

"How long have I been out then?" Allen questioned, staring at the young woman.

"Three weeks," Lenalee stated.

"T-three weeks?" Allen gasped, eyes widening again.

Three weeks of sleep. Three weeks of healing. Three weeks of worrying all the people he loved. Three weeks since his last meal.

"How the hell am I not skin and bones right now?" Allen exclaimed, checking himself over.

Lenalee giggled, "Well, we've been feeding you soup while you were unconscious."

Allen stared at her. His friends had been doing that? What had he done to deserve their kindness? Smiling, Allen rubbed his left arm until his fingers ran over something. A wound. Scratch that. Make that a lot of wounds.

"Lenalee? How come Komui hasn't fixed my arm yet?" Allen asked, staring at his almost black arm.

"Well, um… he said he couldn't do anything until you woke up," Lenalee explained.

Silence.

"Well, night then, Lenalee," Allen said, laying back down.

"Allen!" Lenalee whined.

"Just kidding," Allen laughed.

All of the sudden, there was a loud gurgling sound that came from Allen's stomach. Allen looked at Lenalee.

"I thought I was being fed," Allen stated, confused.

"Well, I never said that we could ever get your stomach to become full. It never stopped growling," Lenalee laughed nervously as she stood up, "But don't worry. I'll go tell Jerry you woke up and he'll bring you all of your favorites!"

Lenalee quickly got up and headed for the door. The seconds her hand touched the door knob, though, she felt a slightly cold hand grab hers. Looking back, Lenalee saw Allen, standing behind her, holding her hand.

"Don't leave me by myself," he whimpered, "let me go with you."

"Allen, you shouldn't be out of bed yet!" Lenalee scolded.

"Please…let me go with you," Allen said again.

"Huh? Allen, need to stay in bed. I'll be right back," Lenalee said, trying to free her hand from his.

"Don't leave me alone, Lenalee. I don't want my nightmare to come back…" Allen whispered.

"Your nightmare?" Lenalee questioned, slowly starting to understand.

The white-haired boy just nodded. He gently squeezed her hand and took a hesitant step closer. Trying not to cry, Allen wrapped his wounded arms around Lenalee. He felt her stiffen in shock of the hug but she quickly relaxed.

"What happened in your nightmare?" she asked.

"You died," she heard Allen whispered, "Everyone died."

Lenalee's eyes widened. She quickly wrapped her own arms around the young teen and held him tight. Soon Allen was silently crying in her arms. Lenalee could understand the feeling. She had had many similar nightmares in the past. She could also recall a time that she begged Allen himself not to go any further into the darkness after a nightmare. She remembered flinging herself onto him when he tried to hide his left eye by going into the shadows.

As quickly as he had started, Allen stopped his tears and stood up straight. He knew that he shouldn't have been so selfish as he was. He needed to be thankful that he was still alive and that his friends cared enough to make sure that he didn't totally starve.

"Alright, you can come with me but you need to promise to tell me the SECOND that you feel tired," Lenalee said, sighing, "I don't want you pushing yourself too hard."

"I promise," Allen smiled.

The thought of Jerry's cooking excited him beyond belief. Basically jumping around in joy for a few seconds, Allen pushed open the door only to find his face hitting the floor.

"Wh-What the hell?" Allen snapped, bringing his hands up to cover his face as he sat up.

"Allen! Are you okay?" Lenalee gasped.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Allen said through his hands then looked up at Lenalee, "What the hell did I trip on?"

"Um…your pants," Lenalee giggled.

"Huh?" Allen nearly gaped.

Standing up, Allen noticed that he indeed had tripped on his pants. The pants, however, were anything but his. There was at least an extra seven inches at the bottom of the legs. Apparently, nobody brought him a pair of his own pants.

"I think those are Krory's," Lenalee stated, laughing at Allen's shocked face, "Well, you see, we checked your room for pants but you didn't have any left. Then we checked with Kanda to see if you could wear a pair of his seeing as he's the closest to your height. Unfortunately, all of his past missions have caused Kanda to lose all but two pairs."

Allen nearly snickered, "So why am I wearing Krory's? Certainly, Kanda could have gone and bought some more pants and let me have a pair."

"He took both pairs and left on a mission. When he got back, both pairs were almost completely destroyed," Lenalee stated.

"So what about Lavi?" Allen asked, slowly rolling up the legs of the too long pants.

"Well, he did offer his pants but…" Lenalee trailed off, blushing a dark red.

"But what?" Allen asked, not noticing her blush.

"B-But they were either his smaller black and white pants from his previous uniforms or…" Lenalee started, trying not to faint from embarrassment.

"Or?" Allen questioned, "Lavi has pants other than those black and white ones?"

Lenalee nodded then took a deep breath, "Lavi brought tight black leather-like pants for you to wear."

Allen gaped as his face turned a deep, bright red. What the hell was Lavi thinking?

"Anyways, we tried the black and white ones and they did fit really well on you. If you want, you can change into them. I think there is a pair left that's clean," Lenalee stated, quickly turning around, "Krory just brought those down so that we could wash Lavi's."

"Th-Thanks," Allen blushed before stepping back into the room.

'Why did I have to tell him about Lavi's stupid pants!' Lenalee thought to herself, 'He didn't have to know about the tight pants! He probably thinks that I'm insane now!'

"Lenalee? Did anyone bring me any kind of shirt?" Allen asked through the door, "I really don't want to go out with all my scars. I'd probably give some new finder a heart attack."

"Huh? Oh! Um…I think that Nee-san brought you one of his shirts this morning," Lenalee answered.

"Where would that be?" Allen asked, looking around the room.

"It should be by the window," Lenalee stated

"Hm…" Allen slowly walked over to the window, "Nope. There isn't anything here, Lenalee. Are you sure that Komui brought me a shirt?"

"Yes, I'm positive that he di-" Lenalee started to say as she opened the door.

Lenalee stopped mid step. Allen blinked twice. Both faces quickly changed into a very dark red that surpassed Cross's hair. For there stood Allen. His body, although marred with many scars, completely fit from hours of physically training himself. The tips of his white hair, which had gone uncut for the past several weeks, laid across his shoulders and clung to his face in the best way. Lenalee couldn't stop her eyes from traveling lower to where Lavi's pants were _**supposed **_to be. In their stead was his boxers, or at least he hoped they were his. Allen gulped. If Komui should walk in, he was so fuckin' dead and he knew it. Suddenly snapping out of their daze, Lenalee rushed out of the room as Allen drove for the bed's covers in a futile attempt to cover himself.

"S-Sorry!" Lenalee apologized through the door, "I sh-shouldn't have walked in w-without asking!"

"I-It's alright, Lenalee," Allen said.

The two were silent for a few minutes. Lenalee swallowed nervously. She couldn't believe that she got to see Allen, the same Allen that she loved, in _**almost **_all his glory. Placing her hands on both sides of her head and sliding down a wall, Lenalee tried to keep her mind from wandering. After a couple of seconds, her blush returned when she failed miserably. Almost screaming, Lenalee gently hit her head trying to shake off the image of Allen in all his wonderful glory kneeling before her. Of Allen slowly walking up to her and then…

"Lenalee?" Allen asked, snapping Lenalee out of her thoughts.

Blushing dark, Lenalee looked up at the face of her thoughts. Allen was standing above her, wearing a crisp, light bluish-green, long sleeve shirt with the collar standing upright. His shirt was tucked into Lavi's pants and both the sleeves and pant legs rolled up a little. Apparently, neither fit very well and Lenalee wasn't complaining. So long as he wasn't in Lavi's tight pants with no shirt, she should be fine. Key word there, though, was should.

"Are you alright?" Allen questioned, holding out a hand for the young woman.

"Y-Yes," Lenalee smiled, gladly accepting his hand.

"Good," Allen smiled back, gently pulling her to her feet.

"Hey, Allen?" Lenalee asked, finally noticing Allen's pure white hair, "Why did you put your hair in that ponytail?"

"Huh? Oh, well, I don't like it constantly getting in my face. So until I can get it cut, I'd rather put what I can in a pony tail," Allen explained, chuckling a little, "Why? Don't you like it?"

"No, that's not it," Lenalee giggled, "I'm just a little jealous of you. You have enough hair to put back."

"It's not that I like it," Allen sighed, "But it's better than having it the same length as BaKanda's, right?"

With that statement, the two laughed the entire way down to the cafeteria where everyone was at for the Christmas party.

* * *

_**Mizu: Yay! A cute little comic thing for Allen and Lenalee! Me so happy now!**_

_**Komui: *too stunned to do anything***_

_**Lavi: Weren't you supposed to let him out of that barrier thing?**_

_**Mizu: I said maybe. Besides, do you want him to go on a killing rampage for what I wrote? **_

_**Lavi: No…not really.**_

_**Mizu: See? I'm doing you guys a favor.**_

_**Allen: Yay! I'm not gonna die by that giant drill!**_

_**Lavi: Uh…Allen? Keep in mind that your left arm is still injured.**_

_**Allen: NO!**_

_**Mizu: Komui will get his revenge soon enough. For now *pats Allen on the back* enjoy your time left.**_

_**Allen: Wait…WHAT?**_

_**Mizu: Reviews, just like always, are very welcomed whether they are critics or praise. Ciao for now people!**_

**__****Allen and Lavi: What did you mean by that last comment? **

**_Mizu: You'll see soon enough._**


	9. Chp 8: Birthday Troubles

Disclaimer: I don't own -Man. If I did…well, there would be deaths of several characters. *cough* the 14th *cough*

* * *

An Innocent Heart

"Man…I thought for sure that this year would be the best Christmas yet," Lavi whined, laying his head down on the table.

"The party has only been going on for a couple hours, Lavi," Reever stated, sitting next to the redhead, "We've got till midnight for it to turn around."

"Yeah, but it won't and you know it," Lavi sighed, "We can't even put up the banner that I worked so hard to make up."

"Well, we can't really celebrate Allen's birthday without him here, Lavi," Komui said, walking up with a plate full of food.

"Why are you eating so early, chief?" Reever asked, eyeing the plate.

"Jerry made all of this wonderful food and it's a shame to let it get cold," Komui stated, taking a bite out of one of his many cookies.

"Great. It won't be long before you're on sugar high and we'll have to hide all building supplies," Reever sighed, standing up, "Cheer up, Lavi. I'm sure the night will turn arou-"

Reever stopped mid sentence when his eyes caught sight of something white walk into the crowded cafeteria.

"No way," Reever whispered, quickly rubbing his eyes before looking back at the area where he had seen the white thing.

Reever couldn't believe his eyes. Allen was awake. Not only was he awake, but he was up and walking. And smiling. Reever felt his tears start to well up in his eyes. Allen, for the first time in a long time, looked so happy. Looking next to him, Reever instantly knew why. He was with Lenalee. Chuckling a little, Reever silently prayed that the chief wouldn't get the wrong idea about the two.

"Mr. Walker!" a little girl's voice rang out through the room.

Everyone fell silent and watched the little Jeniya rush over to where Allen was standing. Catching him off guard, the little girl flung herself into the young teenager, causing him to take a step back to keep his balance. In a minute amount of shock, Allen looked down where he had gained some extra weight. Smiling, Allen quickly picked up the little child and pulled her into a tight hug.

"I-I was so w-worried!" the little girl cried, clinging to Allen's borrowed shirt for dear life.

"Shhhh. It's alright. I'm here," Allen comforted, rubbing small circles on the girl's back, "I'm right here."

Lavi slowly stood up in shock. Was it really Allen? Was he truly awake? Or was this just some sick joke that the science department was playing on them? Lavi quickly walked over to where Allen stood. Feeling a few tears starting to form, Lavi waited for Allen to put the young girl down. His legs erupted the exact second that he did and he flung his arms around the smaller male.

"ALLEN!" Lavi cried out, pulling the young exorcist into a suffocating hold.

"L-Lavi!" Allen nearly cried out in shock.

"You had us worried sick!" Lavi snapped, squeezing the boy tighter, making it a little harder for the white-haired boy to breath.

"L-Let me…go!" Allen gasped.

"Huh? Why?" Lavi asked, actually confused.

"Can't…breath!" Allen snapped.

"Oh! Sorry!" Lavi exclaimed, instantly releasing the boy.

Allen held a hand over his chest as he tried to catch his breath. As soon as he regained it, Allen shot his signature smile at Lavi.

"I missed you, too, Lavi," Allen smiled.

Looking around, Allen found that he was suddenly the center of attention. Blushing, Allen quickly tried to hide himself in the enormous crowd. All he wanted to do at the moment was to fill his stomach and then converse with everyone in the room. Food first. Talk later. Repeating it to himself, Allen brushed past many people who tried to get his attention. It wasn't that he was trying to be rude. It was just that he was _**starving**_.

"Jerry!" Allen cried out as he finally managed to get close enough to the counter.

"Allen! You're finally awake!" Jerry cried out, holding out his hands to try and pull the young exorcist closer to the counter.

"I'm so hungry, Jerry!" Allen whimpered when he finally reached the chef.

"Just name what you want, and it shall be yours!" Jerry smirked.

"Give me one everything!" Allen beamed, eyes gleaming happily.

"One large portion of everything? And how many Mitarshi dango do you want?" Jerry beamed.

"Hm…tough question," Allen joked, "Just give me however many you want!"

"Right on! Now that's the Allen I've missed!" Jerry exclaimed, quickly making all of Allen's meal.

While Jerry was making his meal, Allen quickly made his way over to an empty table. He was so hungry. Rubbing his stomach, Allen whimpered at the empty feeling in his gut. Never before had he ever felt so hungry. Sighing at the empty feeling, Allen looked around the room. What day was it anyway? He never asked Lenalee when he awoke mainly cause he didn't think that it mattered at the time. Now that he had a moment to himself, Allen couldn't help but be curious. There was so many people in the cafeteria. So many more than he was used to. He watched as several golems quickly flapped their way around the room. Someone was going to miss a call, Allen mused.

Stretching, Allen decided that unless it truly mattered, he'd just wait till he found a calendar or something to find out the date. Smiling, Allen watched as Jeniya and Ryan ran up to Lavi. He was relieved to say the least. After all he had gone through, it was all worth it to see the two kids running around healthy.

"Allen!" a young boy's voice called out to him in his thoughts.

"Huh?" Allen stated, looking towards the source, "Timothy? You're here, too?"

"Of course I'm here!" the boy said smugly, quickly sitting next to the young teen, "What's surprising is seeing you up and about."

"Hahaha I guess it is, huh?" Allen laughed, "I'm actually surprised at the fact that I'm not sore or anything. There isn't a part of my body that feels heavy nor do I feel fatigued in anyway."

"Well, you have been sleeping the days away for the past three weeks!" Timothy beamed.

"Order up!" Jerry beamed, quickly rushing over to where Allen sat with ALL of his food.

"Yay! Food!" Allen exclaimed, quickly digging into his meal.

Timothy just watched as Allen gorged himself in awe, "It always is so incredible to watch you eat. Do you even enjoy the food you eat?"

"Of course I do!" Allen said in between bites, "But I'm a parasitic type wielder. If I don't eat a lot, then I'll starve."

"I get that but why do you have to eat so fast?" Timothy questioned, staring at the now half gone food.

Allen paused for a second to think, "You know something, Tim? I really don't know why I eat so fast. Maybe my body just wants to fill my bottomless pit of a stomach as fast as it can."

With that, Allen finished the rest of his meal. Once he finished his last plate, Allen sighed happily. Then he felt a little strange.

"That's odd," Allen stated.

"What is? Do you have a stomach ache or something?" Timothy laughed.

"No. But," Allen paused and turned to the younger boy, "I'm still hungry."

"Huh? How can you still be hungry!" the young boy snapped.

"I can't help it! My body is still probably hungry from not being able to eat as much as I needed to when I was unconscious," Allen laughed, "Jerry? Can you fix me another meal please?"

"Huh? Oh, of course Allen!" Jerry beamed, not finding the teen's hunger at all weird.

"I sure do envy you, Allen," Timothy sighed, "You can eat so much and never gain a single pound. I wish I could eat all the candy and not have to deal with Klaud making me run laps."

"Sounds like she's kinda tough," Allen laughed.

"You don't know the half of it!" Timothy whined.

"Well, at least she is nothing like Master Cross. Trust me, you do NOT want to have had Cross as a master," Allen stated, shuddering at the memory.

"Ha! There is no way he was any worse than Klaud!" Timothy scoffed.

"You wanna bet?" Allen chuckled.

Timothy just nodded and Allen smirked. Whispering just so Timothy could hear, Allen whispered a few things that made his apprenticeship a million times worse than the boy's was. Timothy paled at the tales that Allen told him and stared at the teen with wide eyes.

"How the hell did you survive?" Timothy snapped.

"You learn tricks that make live so much easier," Allen smirked, letting a little of his black side to appear.

Timothy just shuddered as Jerry brought out more food for Allen to gorge on.

"Thanks Jerry!" Allen said happily before diving into his food.

"Oi, Allen!" Lavi's voice called, "Lookie up here!"

Stopping the fork that was about to enter his mouth, Allen looked up to where the redhead stood. Above him was a giant roll of paper that looked like it was about to fall.

"Yuu-chan! Get out here and do the honors!" Lavi called out to the scowling samurai.

"Don't call me that, baka usagi!" Kanda snapped, "Like hell I'm going to be the one to do it. You probably set it up to make a prank out of it."

"While that would be fun to do, I really didn't!" Lavi whined, grabbing onto Kanda's arm, "Now come on! Allen's waiting!"

"Do it yourself, baka usagi!" Kanda nearly shouted, freeing his arm from Lavi's gripped.

"Fine." Lavi pouted.

The redhead quickly made his way over to where a red rope hung from the ceiling.

"From all of us here at the Order to you," Lavi smirked, tugging at the rope causing the roll of paper to finally unroll.

"Happy Birthday, Allen!" everyone in the room shouted happily.

Allen's eyes widened. The fork that he held slowly slipped from his fingers and hit the floor. He could feel his tears to start to flow from his eyes but didn't care. "N-No…" Allen whimpered.

All was silent. Everyone had expected Allen to burst out in laughter and smile or something along that matter. What they got was nothing like they expected. Allen didn't smile or laugh. He just sat there, shocked. There were tears running down his cheeks but he didn't make any move to wipe them away. His eyes were trembling with a fear of something. No one could figure out why, though. Why was he suddenly afraid?

Lenalee rushed over to his side. Was it because of the nightmare he had had earlier? Pulling him into a comforting hug, she tried to bring him out of his shock. He didn't move. Starting to get worried, Lenalee tried shaking the poor boy. Still, Allen never moved. His eyes were locked on something. Lenalee tried to follow his line of sight but didn't see anything. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary in the room.

Suddenly, Allen pulled away from Lenalee and clutched his head tightly. He started to scream a blood curdling scream. Everyone stood shocked. What the hell was going on? Kanda and Lavi quickly scanned around the room. Kanda locked his eyes onto Allen's and followed the screaming boy's line of vision. The only that they led to was Lavi's banner. Kanda's eyes widened.

Lavi was so proud of his banner. He spent a full day just writing out all of the letters on it. Taking care to make it so that Allen could see how he was great to all of them, Lavi had come up with a great idea. He had put mirrors on the banner. There was one on each corner and one right in the middle making it so that he could still roll it up easily.

Kanda cursed under his breath. Now he knew what the Moyashi was screaming about. Of course, no one else did. Moyashi had only told him a tiny fact about himself during their last mission together when he kept trying to cover up the mirror in their shared room.

"_**Kanda. I really can't stand mirrors. I detest them beyond anything in the world. All they do is remind me of all the things I hate," **_Moyashi had explained after being threatened with Mugen.

Rushing over to the ties that kept the banner up, Kanda unsheathed his Mugen. In one quick move, Kanda sliced through the ties and sent the banner crashing down to the floor. Luckily for Kanda, none of the mirrors broke on impact. Quickly, Kanda rolled up the banner and through it into an empty hallway. The second that the banner was out of his sight, Allen instantly calmed down. He blinked a few times before he finally snapped out of whatever world he had been in.

"Allen! What on earth was wrong?" Lavi and Reever nearly shouted, worry clear in their voices.

Allen just stared down at the ground. What was he supposed to tell them? That he could see the fourteenth's shadow in any mirror? Hell no. Biting his lip, Allen tried to come up with a reasonable excuse. He had a sudden headache? Maybe.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Moyashi!" Kanda snapped, interrupting his thoughts, "I knew that you hated mirrors but I didn't know that it went this far!" "You hate mirrors, Allen?" Lenalee questioned, quite stunned.

Allen cursed under his breath, still trying to find a good explanation.

"Th-they bring up bad memories," Allen blurted out, mind racing at a million miles per second.

"Bad memories?" Reever and Johnny said in unison.

"Of Mana, right?" Lenalee stated.

Allen bit his lip and nodded. It wasn't that far off from the truth. Allen always had hated seeing his scar in the mirror but never let it bug him much. But if they bought it, then he'd use it.

"Allen," Lavi stated, taking a few steps closer, "I didn't know. I'm truly sorry."

"I-It's okay, Lavi," Allen stated, trying to force all of what had happened out of his mind, "It's over and now you know. So why don't we try to enjoy the rest of the party?"

"Yeah!" Everyone exclaimed before rushing off to various things.

Allen sighed as everyone left his side to go fetch things. That was a close one.

"I never took you as such a good liar, Moyashi," Kanda almost growled.

"The name's Allen, BaKanda. And I wasn't lying," Allen defended.

"Right. You were bending the truth," Kanda scoffed.

"What are you getting at?" Allen nearly hissed.

"You're hiding something," Kanda stated, staring straight at the cursed boy.

"So what if I am, Kanda? Why do you even care?" Allen snickered, "Am I finally rubbing off on the stoic samurai?"

"Che. If you think it's alright not to tell any of them, I'm fine with it," Kanda huffed, starting to turn off to head to his room, "But, keeping it to yourself is not the way. Trust me on this, Moyashi. If you keep to much bottled up, you'll just end up eating up the remainder of your young life."

With that, Kanda left Allen behind, head filled with a thousand questions that only could be answered by Kanda himself. Allen cursed under his breath.

"Happy birthday to me…" Allen sighed.

* * *

_**Mizu: Awesome! Allen's finally back into the story! I do find that I'm kinda getting a little rambly. Oh well. I'll try to fix that in the next chapters.**_

_**Allen: Why the hell do I have to get Kanda to answer my questions?**_

_**Mizu: Because I thought it would be a good way to express my intentions of making you two like brothers.**_

_**Allen and Kanda: But I hate him!**_

_**Mizu: So? *looks at Komui* I'll let you out soon, Komui! Can you hang on till the next chapter?**_

**_Komui: Let me out already! I promise that I won't kill Allen with my drill or Sir Komlin!_**

**_Mizu: Nope. Just wait till after the next chapter, k?_**

_**Lavi: Allen and Kanda getting along…*shudders* I'm worried about your state of mind.**_

_**Mizu: Alright then. As usual, all types of reviews are welcome! Ciao for now!**_


	10. Chp 9: My Brother

_**Mizu: It's finally done! This chapter is finally finished! Woot! Now for the disclaimer thingy. I don't own -Man. If I did, Kanda wouldn't be dieing so quickly! Don't leave us Kanda!**_

* * *

An Innocent Heart

* * *

"Crap…I've already come this way," Allen cursed, staring down a random hallway, "Why do all the fuckin' halls have to look the same anyways?"

Allen sighed and began to walk in the direction he had hoped his room was. All he wanted to do was to get there and change. That way he could get back to his party and kill Lavi and Komui. It was there fault that he had to change and leave Lenalee's side anyway. After all, the two of them had been tugging on both of his sleeves until they ripped off. Then Komui decided to add salt to the wound by deciding that it would be a great time to fix his left arm.

"I'm gonna kill that man when I get back," Allen muttered as he passed yet another door.

"Moyashi?" Kanda's voice asked from the door he had just passed.

Allen spun around to see a rare sight. Kanda _**not **_scowling or glaring at anything.

"Kanda…" Allen muttered, thinking for a second, "Shit! If I'm by your room then mine is on the other side of the Order. Dammit! I've been in the wrong area this entire time!"

Kanda just sighed and walked up to the younger man, "You're hopeless, you know that Moyashi?"

With that said, Kanda dragged the white haired boy into his room and slammed his door. Allen, surprised that Kanda said something other than an insult to him, let himself be shoved down into an empty chair in front of Kanda's bed.

"Drink," Kanda ordered, holding a glass of yellowish-brown liquid in front of his face.

Allen slowly took the glass and brought it to his mouth. However, his nose forewarned him of what the glass held.

"Kanda!" Allen gasped, pulling away from the glass as if it was going to kill him.

"What, Moyashi?" Kanda asked, sitting on the bed with his own glass.

"You know I can't drink this, BaKanda!" Allen snapped, "You know that I can't drink any alcohol yet! I'm still a minor!"

"Nobody's gonna care, baka Moyashi," Kanda sighed, rubbing his eyes.

"Why's that?" Allen asked, curious why Kanda hadn't snapped at him.

Kanda sat on the edge of his bed and stared down at the floor. Allen fidgeted in his seat while Kanda tried to sort out his thoughts. What could have the stupid stoic samurai been thinking about?

"Alright," Kanda sighed again, looking up at Allen, "I'm not going to baby you like everyone else."

"What do you mean?" Allen scowled, "And what does that have to do with my legality to drink alcohol?"

"Because you won't live to be the legal age, Moyashi," Kanda stated, staring straight into Allen's eyes.

Allen's eyes slowly widened as Kanda's words sunk into his skull. He couldn't feel anything, couldn't hear anything. His grip on the glass loosened as his fingers went numb, sending the glass down to crash on the floor.

"Moyashi?" Kanda questioned.

"No…" Allen whispered, voice trembling, "It can't be true. Tell me that you're joking Kanda!"

"I don't joke," Kanda stated, handing Allen his glass, "Now enjoy your damn drink."

Allen slowly took a drink as he sighed heavily, "I knew that I had overused my innocence a little bit, but I didn't think that it was that bad…"

"That bad? You could have died, Moyashi!" Kanda snapped, "The only reason that you're still alive is thanks to that stubborn mentality that you and your innocence share! And that's half of the reason for all of this!"

Allen just sat there and stared at the glass for a few moments. Finally, the white haired teen caved and took a reluctant sip from the glass. Kanda relaxed a little but didn't take his eyes off of the white haired boy.

"What the hell happened out there, Moyashi?" Kanda asked, his voice sounding so unnaturally gentle.

"Where? The battlefield or the party?" Allen asked, taking another sip from the glass.

"Both, I suppose."

Allen sat the glass down on the floor next to his chair and sighed, "It wasn't just level 1-3 akuma…There were several level four and…"

"And what?"

"Noah…"

Kanda was silent for a moment, "Which one?"

"Those damnable twins that Krory fought. I thought for sure that they were dead," Allen cursed, rubbing his eyes, "but they aren't. They used those fuckin' level fours to distract me so that they could get closer to me and attack."

"We didn't see any level fours when we reached you," Kanda stated, "there's no way that you could have survived if what you said was true."

Allen chuckled slightly, "You'd be surprised what Innocence can do when it is truly needed…"

"What do you mean?"

"Somehow, after the twins had nearly destroyed me, my clown belt managed to break through all of the akuma around me, including all of the level four. True, that really shouldn't have been enough to stop them but…"

Allen paused and closed his eyes trying to remember what happened.

"I'm not exactly sure what happened myself, Kanda. All I remember is my clown belt running through the akuma and then I felt a sudden burst of pain rushing through my body and out through the clown belt. After the pain subsided, it left a slight…warmth of some sort I guess is one way to explain it. It was gentle but it, and I know this is going to sound ridiculous, but it felt like it was sorry for something…

"After that, I looked around and saw all the akuma destroyed. Noticing the twin Noah in a state of shock, I charged at him with my sword. I just let my innocence move my body for me after that. I was too weak to do anything so I let it rule over my motions. The only thing I cared about at that moment was staying alive long enough for you guys to get there to protect the kids…I don't remember anything else until I woke up in the hospital earlier."

Kanda was silent. He couldn't believe that the kid was still alive let alone sitting here talking to him.

"So what do you think that pain was, Kanda?" Allen asked, staring at the older male.

"Your innocence, Moyashi," Kanda stated, "It's just a guess and you'll have to have Komui to confirm it but my guess would be that your Innocence used a lot of your life force there at that moment to amplify it's power enough to destroy multiple level fours all at once."

The two males were silent once again. There wasn't much else to say over the subject and they knew it. They both knew that Allen was going to die soon. No matter what they talked about that truth wouldn't change.

"I really screwed up my life, huh, Kanda," Allen chuckled as he ran a hand through his white hair.

Kanda just nodded.

"No one was going to tell me, right?" Allen asked, staring up at the ceiling, "They didn't want me to know so that I wouldn't get depressed, right?"

Kanda just nodded again.

"I'm glad you told me," Allen smiled, "Now that I know, at least I can enjoy what time I have left. By the way…"

"A little more than a year," Kanda stated, knowing what question the Moyashi was going to ask.

"A year, huh?" Allen thought aloud, "Well, I am an exorcist. I mean, we are all going to die before our time anyways. Nice to know when my date is going to be so I can do my best to fight it."

Kanda's eyes widened, "What?"

"Oh, come on, Kanda," Allen smirked, "You didn't really think that I'd just sit by and wait for it to happen. Hell no."

Allen grabbed his glass and took a large drink from it, "You and I are the same now. Both of us have only a limited amount of time left and we're trying our damnest to fight it. Has your limit ever stopped you from doing something? No. You're fighting yours so I'm gonna fight mine."

Kanda stared at the younger male. When had the immature little brat of a Moyashi grown up to be a Moyashi of a man?

"Now to the second part of your question. What happened at the party," Allen whispered, staring into his glass, "Well…Where to start?"

"What do you mean, Moyashi?" Kanda questioned.

"You know how I'm the pianist for the ark and the host for the fourteenth's memories, right?" Allen asked, still staring into the glass.

"Yeah…"

"Well, I can see him," Allen said, "I can see the fourteenth whenever I look into a mirror. He's always there. Standing behind me. A hideous looking shadow that is forever there."

"So that's why you kept covering the mirror on that mission," Kanda thought aloud, "And you haven't told Komui yet?"

"Nope. I don't want to give central any more reasons to doubt me. If the fourteenth starts to be a problem, I'll turn myself in," Allen sighed, "Not a moment before though."

"…that doesn't explain what happened in the party though," Kanda stated, "You could have just looked away and pretended to be crying. Lavi would have taken it down then."

"True," Allen chuckled before looking straight at Kanda, "but that's not the whole truth."

"Then what is?" Kanda snapped, not meaning to do so, but snapped nonetheless.

"I had a nightmare with the fourteenth and everyone at the order just before I woke up," Allen said, sternly, "The fourteenth was talking to me then I was with Lenalee and the rest of the order to celebrate my birthday. The banner was there too…"

"So?"

"I…I killed everyone. My innocence killed everyone," Allen said, turning his eyes down to the floor, "It was so horrible."

Kanda's eyes widened, "You…you killed everyone with your innocence…"

Allen nodded, "Then…when I saw the banner that Lavi had made, I saw the fourteenth. He started to talk to me. Telling me to do something."

"What did he say, Moyashi?" Kanda asked, already knowing what the answer was going to be.

"_**Kill them. Kill the bastards who pretend to be your friends. To be your family! Kill them before they kill you! KILL THEM!**_" Allen repeated the horrid words, no emotion in his voice, "At the same time he was saying those words, he kept replaying my dream to me. That's not all…"

Allen paused and took a deep breath, "My innocence kept trying to activate itself to purify my body of the Noah who was trying to take over my mind. It wanted to save me but I didn't let it activate. It hurt. Activating seemed like it was hurting. So I fought to keep my innocence from fully activating. I allowed it to send blasts of power through my body but that was it.

"Now that I think about it, I'm sure that I was also keeping it deactivated so that my dream really wouldn't come true. I was afraid, Kanda. I was so fuckin' scared of myself at that moment."

Allen stood at that moment and chugged the rest of his drink, "I'm going to my room. If anyone comes looking for me tell them I'm there…or at least trying to get there."

"S-Sure," Kanda stuttered, shocked from what Allen had told him.

"Kanda…" Allen smiled, walking up to his door only to stop before opening it, "Thanks. I know that you can be a complete ass, at times, but I'm still glad that I met you. I don't know when we'll ever be able to talk like this again so I'll just say it now."

Kanda stood up and stared at Allen as he slowly opened is door to the hallway. The younger male just turned around enough to show the samurai his face. The silent tears that were falling from his eyes. The fuckin' smile that was always present on his childlike face.

"I'm really glad we could be friends Kanda. It met so much to me. Even though we fight all the time, I've still come to think of you as a close friend," Allen stated, starting to step out into the hallway, "as a big brother even. Bye Kanda."

The normally stoic samurai watched as the door close. The second that it did, Kanda sat down on his bed with an undignified plop. He slowly raised a hand to his face and tried to hide it from the view of those who were not even in the room.

"…Baka Moyashi," Kanda cursed as a few tears fell from his eyes, "Didn't even let me say that I thought of him as a fucking annoying, bitching little brother…"

* * *

_**Mizu: That could have come out a lot better. Now I have a kind Kanda and a weirdly depressed Allen to work with…They'll turn back to normal in the next chapter…I hope. I wil try to make the chapters a little longer in the next couple of chapters.**_

_**Komui: *dancing around like an idiot* I'm finally free…Now *evil glare as he charges for Allen***_

_**Allen: Crap!**_

_**Mizu: Oh no you don't Komui *saps him with a shock collar that was secretly placed around his neck* I need Allen for the rest of the story. You have to wait till then.**_

_**Komui: Damn. You.**_

_**Mizu: Love you too Komui! Anyways, all reviews are very welcomed. Ciao for now!**_


	11. Chp 10: Wishing on Candles

_**Mizu: It's finally done! This took forever to type up! I had the basic idea for it but whenever I sat down to type it up, all ideas flew away from my fingers. Grrr… Anyways, I don't own -Man. It's simple as that. **_

* * *

Chapter 10- Wishing on Candles

* * *

"Where is he?" Link snapped as he stomped into the cafeteria.

"Where's who?" Lavi and Komui questioned, staring that the flustered crow.

"Don't "Where's who?" me! I only left my post outside Walker's door for less than an hour to eat and go to the bathroom and when I came back, the damn brat was gone!" Link shouted, spotting Lenalee, "You! You were the last in his room!"

"S-So?" Lenalee gasped, "He woke up and wanted to come and get something to eat. It's not my fault that you weren't there!"

"You were to report this to me!" Link exclaimed.

"Well, excuse me for forgetting that minor detail in my joy of his awakening!" Lenalee retorted.

"You little-" Link started to curse.

"What are you doing, Link?" Allen snapped from the opposite doorway, "How dare you shout at Lenalee!"

"Allen!" Lenalee beamed, "You finally made it back."

"Yeah, I got lost a couple of times to my room," Allen apologized, walking up to the Chinese girl, "I was really lucky though! I found a clean shirt!"

"Really? That's good," Lenalee smiled.

"Walker, you are to report to Leverrier immediately," Link sighed, trying to level out his anger.

"Why? I haven't done anything wrong, have I?" Allen scoffed.

"He has ordered that you are to set up gateways so that when you-" Link started to clarify.

"Nanananana!" Komui shouted, "No more talk of work! It's a wonderful day!"

"Ah! That's right!" Reever agreed, "It's Allen's birthday after all!"

"I bet Jerry's done with your cake and everything!" Lavi exclaimed, grabbing onto Allen's right arm, "Let's go see, shall we, Moyashi-chan?"

"Lavi! Stop calling me that!" Allen whined.

Lenalee ran ahead of the two boys and rushed into the kitchen, "Is Allen's cake almost done?"

"Just one more layer and it shall be perfect for our birthday boy," Jerry beamed.

Lenalee looked towards the corner of the room and nearly fell backwards. The cake was _**huge**_! She tried counting the layers but proved to many to keep track of.

"J-Jerry, how many layers are on there?" Lenalee questioned.

"Hm…with this one that I'm working on, seventy-five," Jerry said happily.

"S-S-Seventy-five?" Lenalee gaped.

She knew that Allen ate a lot but even he wouldn't be able to eat that much cake without getting sick. Plus the fact that he just ate, what, two hours ago? There was no way that that boy was going to be able to eat all of his cake.

"How's he gonna eat it all?" Lenalee questioned.

"We're all gonna help him, of course," Jerry smiled, "After all, birthday cakes should be shared."

"R-Right," Lenalee stuttered, starting to get a stomach ache just thinking about all the cake.

"Hey, is his cake finished?" Lavi shouted happily.

"Ah! Finally, it's done!" Jerry exclaimed as he placed the last layer on the very top, "Now, someone go get Komurin whatever to drag it out there."

"Wh-Why don't we just let Allen come in there?" Reever asked, trying to avoid as many disasters as possible with the insane robots.

Reever slowly pushed open the doors to the kitchen. Making sure that Allen and his closest friends were the only ones to come in, Reever locked Link out after slamming the door shut in his face. Ignoring the squawking Crow, everyone walked up to the giant cake.

"W-Wow…" Allen muttered, "I don't think that even I can eat all of this."

"See?" Lenalee whispered to Jerry.

"Do you like it, cutie pie?" Jerry asked, walking up to his favorite person, "Is there anything else you want?"

"um…well…" Allen mumbled.

"Hm?" Lavi and Jerry asked, leaning in closer to the white haired boy.

"Candles," Allen said, looking away from everyone.

"Candles?" the group repeated.

"You want candles?" Ryan asked, not believing his ears.

"Y-Yeah. M-Mana always said that it's never a birthday until your cake has some candles on it," Allen blushed.

"Well, if Allen wants candles," Krory announced dramatically, "then candles he shall have!"

"Now, who would have candles that we could use?" Marie thought aloud.

"Get the fuck back, you stupid Crow!" Kanda snapped as he walked into the room, also slamming the door on Link.

"Kanda? I thought you went to bed already," Komui stated.

"I came down to make sure that baka Moyashi here managed to find his way back to his party," Kanda sighed, holding out a bag of candles, "And to give my contribution for the party."

"Really?" Allen gasped, racing up to Kanda and snatching the bag away from him, "This is so awesome!"

"Awwww!" Lenalee cooed, "You just made his day, Kanda."

"Yeah, who'd have ever thought that you'd be so nice to Moyashi-chan," Lavi stated, leaning on Kanda's head.

"Of course I'm being nice to him!" Kanda shouted, "Even I'm not cruel enough to ruin his birthday!"

"Awww! Yuu cares for Allen! Yuu cares for Allen!" Lavi chanted.

Allen laughed as Kanda threatened to behead Lavi. Finally, a sense of normalcy had returned to the exorcists of the Black Order. Jerry smiled as he placed sixteen candles on the second to last layer and lit them.

"Alright, cutie-pie! Come over here and blow out this candles!" Jerry announced.

"G-Go on Allen!' Miranda encouraged.

Allen just smiled at all of his friend as he made his way to his cake. Just when he was about to blow out the candles, something erupted from the very top layer. The something started to fly around so fast that Allen couldn't help but get dizzy. Then the object finally came to rest on top of Allen's head. After refocusing his vision, the teen reached up to grab whatever it was. His eyes widened as a huge smile appeared on his face.

"Timcampy!" Allen shouted happily.

"Here we go again," Lavi chuckled.

"Hm?" Ryan questioned, turning to looked up at the red head as his sister did the same.

"Whenever Allen and Tim are separated, the kid goes into a crying attack, proclaiming how much he missed the yellow golem," Lavi explained, "There he goes. Look."

The two kids looked back at Allen, and sure enough, the white haired boy was cuddling the golem to his face, crying uncontrollably. The two sweat dropped. Was this really the same guy that he just literally been on his death bed because he risked his life for the two of them?

"Hm? What do you have, Tim?" Allen questioned, pulling the golem away from his face.

The yellow golem opened its mouth to reveal both its razor sharp teeth but a neatly wrapped present. Allen slowly took it from his golem and stared at it. After a few moments he turned back to his friends.

"Well, go on Allen!" Lenalee laughed, "Open it!"

The teenager slowly unwrapped the gift to find a book with a black leather cover. Confused, he started turning at to multiple angles. There wasn't any title on it so it probably wasn't a story book. It didn't have any way to seal it so it wasn't a journal.

"What is it?" Allen finally asked, "And don't tell me it's a book."

"It's not," Komui stated, "It's a wish log."

"Wish log?" Allen repeated.

"All exorcists have one," Marie stated, "We get one on our first birthday in the Order."

"What's it for?" Allen questioned, opening the book.

"Every time you have a wish that you want to come true, write it in there and then give the book to Komui. Then everyone pitches in to granting those wishes," Lavi explained, walking up the white haired teen.

"Sorta like a bucket wish," Allen whispered.

"No," Lavi sighed, taking the book and hitting Allen in the head with it gently, "We're always running around the world fighting. This book is a way to say thanks to us and make our lives a little more pleasurable."

"The finders get vacations to go home and visit family so long as they promise not to tell them about anything to do with the Order. The scientist get raises and are free to leave whenever they want," Komui stated, "So to make everything fair, Central issued these books."

"I know that most exorcists have used it at least once or twice," Lenalee thought out loud.

Allen stared at the book in Lavi's hands, "So whatever wish I write in that will come true?"

"Yep." everyone nodded.

"Do I have to right them all on my birthday?" Allen asked, taking the book back.

"Nope," the group beamed.

"So, say nine months from now, I can write anything down, and someone will make sure that wish comes true?" Allen said, hiding a slightly feral smirk.

"Correct again, our young friend!" Tiedoll announced.

"Hm…interesting," Allen whispered, "Alright! Now for cake!"

"Yay!"

"So, write anything interesting in the book, yet?" Lavi asked as he plopped down on the couch next to Allen.

* * *

"Maybe," Allen said, enjoying the last bite of his cake.

Lenalee was right. Even Allen couldn't finish his entire cake. But there was enough for everyone in the main headquarters to have some so it wasn't like it was a waste. After everyone had had their fill of holiday sweets, they all headed off to their respected areas. For Allen and Lavi, that meant the lounge next to the library. Well, it did for Allen. Lavi was just skipping out on his work.

"Can I read them?" Lavi questioned.

"No," Allen stated, stretching a bit, "Man, today was fun."

Lavi smiled and placed Allen into a head lock, "I'm glad. You really had us all really worried. We all thought that you might not make it."

"I-I'm sorry," Allen apologized, "I didn't mean to cause you guys any trouble."

"I never said that, now did I?" Lavi sighed, "I just meant we were really scared that you wouldn't make it to your birthday, Allen."

"L-Lavi?" Allen stuttered, "H-How bad did I look when you found me?"

"Honestly?" Lavi questioned, sighing when Allen nodded, "To be honest, I thought that you had actually died. I couldn't believe that there was any way that you'd have survived all of your injuries."

Lavi suddenly started to ruffled and mess with Allen's snow white locks, laughing as the younger boy struggled against it, "but you're alive and that's all that matters. You're like our little miracle, you know?"

Allen laughed and slowly stood up. He stretched for second before holding out his wish log, "I'm going to bed. Can you make sure this gets to Komui?"

"Sure can do, buddy," Lavi assured, "You go rest. You must be exhausted after today."

"Yeah," Allen yawned, waving as he walked out of the lounge, "Night."

Lavi smirked as the young exorcist left the room. He quickly opened Allen's wish log to see what his younger friend wanted most.

* * *

_Wishes:_

_1. Either all Master's debts paid off or me pardoned from having to pay them off._

_2. Vacation at the beach with all my friends._

_3. BaKanda to call me my real name._

_4. Random Poker Nights with all the exorcists and Komui, Reever, Johnny, and Bak._

_5. Link to stop following me around for a day._

_6. Eating contest between parasitic type exorcists_

_7. No random setting up gateway missions without either Lavi or Lenalee there._

_8. New clothes_

_9. Go to the Circus!_

_10. Rematch with Fou _

_11. Find out where my real parents are._

_12. Visit said parents and ask why they abandoned me_

_13. Find a way to get my auburn hair back (if only for a day or two)_

_14. Put on a circus like show for my friends at the Order_

_15. To visit Mana's grave for a day…_

16. …_?_

* * *

"Visit Mana's grave?" Lavi said, "Wonder why he wants to do that? Maybe a tribute or something?"

Lavi stared at the sixteenth line. Why'd he put that? It looked like he originally wrote something down but then erased it?

"Oh well," Lavi sighed, getting up, "Best not to dwell on it. I'd better get this book to Komui so we can get started."

…_visit Mana's grave…_ Why did those words seem so…cold?

* * *

"There," Allen said, finishing hanging his new lighting piece from his ceiling, "I think the room seems a little brighter now."

The lighting piece was several candle holders held up and together by clothes' hangers that Allen had bent. In total, there were sixteen candle holders and sixteen candles. The same candles that were from his cake. He slowly lit all sixteen before crawling into bed. Looking up at it before he pasted out, Allen couldn't help but smile to himself.

"I think that I'll leave them lit till they burn out by themselves," Allen yawned, smiling, "Just like me."

* * *

_**Mizu: Done, done~! The chapter is finally over and done~! **_

_**Allen: Why am I smiling at the end? Shouldn't I be a little distraught?**_

_**Mizu: No, cause you are plotting things~!**_

_**Lavi: Are…are you hyper?**_

_**Mizu: Yep Yep~!**_

_**Lavi: …Who gave her Dr. Pepper again?**_

_**Mizu: No one~! Me found new thing for hyperness~! **_

_**Allen and Lavi: What is it?**_

_**Mizu: Mizu not telling~! She like hyper self! She can be like Komui like this!**_

_**Allen and Lavi: Noooo! *chase Mizu around the room***_

_**Lenalee: Eh…Well, Mizu loves all reviews and any suggestions that you guys have. By the way, An Innocent Heart will be uploaded on either Thursdays or Sundays whenver it is uploaded. Mizu gets kinda busy with other things. Um…Ciao for now.**_


	12. Chp 11: To the Beach part 1

_**Mizu: Yet another random chapter done and over with. I will try to rein in my crazy thoughts but for now, I enjoy it. Anyways, just so you guys know, I haven't decided on whether or not Allen lives yet. Don't kill me! Disclaimer Time: I don't own -Man. If I did, Leverrier would have died by Tyki Mikk's hand and Allen wouldn't be turning into a full blown Noah. **_

* * *

Chapter eleven: To the beach part 1

* * *

"So this is all Allen wants?" Komui asked the redhead who sat on the couch in front of his desk.

"That's all that he's written down," Lavi confirmed, "I'm surprise that he didn't want to have a feast sometime or something. Though the poker thing was bound to be in there…"

"Not quite sure whether or not the Order has enough money to pay off Cross's debts but I suppose that we could try to get Allen out of paying them from now on," Komui stated as he read through the list.

"I'm looking forward to his second wish," Lavi thought out loud, "Yep. That one's bound to be fun."

"Well it's defiantly simple enough. I'm sure that we can find a day for you guys to go to the Mediterranean or something," Komui agreed before his face suddenly darkened, "Provided that everyone wears appropriate clothing."

"O-Of course! We wouldn't think of going out in flashy apparel," Lavi stuttered, "Never in a million years."

"Next comes Kanda…How are we going to get him to stop calling Allen Moyashi!" Komui shouted, pulling at his hair, "Why is Allen making such an unreasonable request?"

"Because he really wants Yuu to not call him that," Lavi sighed, "Don't worry, Yuu. Just leave that to me, okay?"

"…okay. So what's next on the list?" Komui questioned, looking at the book again, "Random Poker Nights? Allen plays poker?"

"Yeah and he's good. I can't tell you how many times I've watched him and never caught him!" Lavi whined.

"Caught him? Doing what?" Komui questioned.

"Cheating of course!" Lavi exclaimed, "He's a freakin' pro when it comes to cheating!"

"H-he cheats?" Komui stuttered.

"Yeah. He even told me himself," Lavi mumbled, "And now he wants everyone to play him. Only Krory, you, and I know his little secret. And even if we warned everyone, we'd never catch him at it."

"That's…just…great," Komui whimpered, "I just hope he doesn't want to gamble."

"Oh, he will." Lavi groaned, "So what's next on the list?"

"Link to stop following him around for a day," Komui said, "That one's not too difficult. Just keep him locked up where he can't use his hands."

"Oh, central's going to love us…" Lavi muttered.

"Okay. I think those five should be a good start. I'll go find Reever and Johnny and we'll set up preparations," Komui said, stretching as he stood up, "Why don't you head to bed, Lavi?"

"Hey, Komui?" Lavi whispered, as he slowly stood up, "Do you think we should tell Allen the truth?"

"…No," Komui sighed, "We need to make sure that he enjoys the time he has left and telling him would only burden him more."

"But it won't be long till his body really does start giving out on him," Lavi said, trying not to cry at the thought, "How are we going to hide it from him then?"

"We'll tell him that he has some sort of disease so that we can put him in the hospital wing so he can be on constant pain medication," Komui stated, looking down at the floor, "He'll just think that we're trying to help him get better. It's…better that way."

"Better?" a stern voice snapped from the doorway.

"Y-Yuu?" Lavi gasped.

"You think that that's better? How on this bloody planet is it better to lie to a dying person that they aren't dying when their body is failing?" the samurai snapped.

"I-It'll be better f-for Allen's psyche!" the Chinese man tried to defend himself.

"…Central's ordering you to tell him that when he reaches that stage, aren't they!" Kanda snarled at the head scientist, "So you're just going to go along with it?"

"y…yes," Komui admitted.

"Wh-what?" Lavi snapped, "Why?"

"Cause I agree with them. It would be better that way. Allen will remain his happy self into the end," Komui said, tears rolling down his cheeks rapidly, "Isn't that better than letting him go out with his entire point of existence shattered! Isn't that better than letting him die crying about all of his mistakes? He can go peacefully back to his Mana's arms that way!"

"Do you really think that way, Komui?" Kanda asked, incredulously, "or is it that you know that you don't have the heart to tell him the truth? Or even that it will just be easier on you to see him go with that big, dumb fuckin' smile that he pastes on his face?"

Komui's head snapped up, locking his eyes onto the samurai's face. There was no sign of anger there. No fury. No hatred. Just a bit of sorrow and compassion, "K-Kanda…"

"I won't tell Moyashi," Kanda sighed, "but I swear that you better make sure that nothing comes to hurt that idiot anymore than he already is."

"A-Are you really Yuu?" Lavi stuttered.

"Of course I am, baka usagi!" Kanda snapped, reverting momentarily back to his normal self, "It's just that you aren't the only one to think of Moyashi as an annoying little brother."

"Yuu…" Lavi muttered, smiling in understanding, "I won't tell Moyashi that you were talking nicely about him."

"You better not," Kanda growled, shooting a glare at the redhead, "Look…on the day that you get that Crow to stop chasing Moyashi around, I'll call the idiot by his real name. Only that day, though."

"Got it," Lavi smirked, turning back to the still stunned Komui, "Well, I'm off to bed. Good luck with the wishes, Chief!"

* * *

"Allen? Link?" Lenalee questioned as she gently knocked on the parasitic exorcist's door, "It's time to get up!"

"Mr. Walker!" Ryan and Jeniya chanted from next to Lenalee, "The sun is up! Birds have all taken to the skies! Now it's time for you to open those sleepy eyes!"

"Will you three be quiet?" Link snapped as he flung the door open, "Since when did the idiot need to be up at 7:30 in the morning?"

"Komui wants to see everyone in his office," Lenalee said, walking into the room, "Allen~!"

Allen groaned on his bed, shifting into a ball and pulling his blanket over his head. Lenalee giggled at the actions of her comrade as she motioned for the two kids to come over to the bed. Silently counting down from five on her bed, she signaled for all three of them to pounce on the poor teen.

"WAKEY WAKEY!" Jeniya squealed as they pounced.

"Ah!" Allen gasped, shooting out of his slumber only to find himself trapped under three bodies, "ugh…too early…"

"Come on, sleepy head!" Lenalee beamed, "Komui wants to see everyone in his office."

"I just woke up yesterday from a three week coma! Does he really expect me to be up and running around already?" Allen groaned as he sat up.

"That's what you'll be doing if you don't get up soon," Reever's voice sounded from the doorway.

"Huh?" the group in the room questioned the section leader.

"Komui's itching to activate his newest Komurin," Reever sighed, "so unless you want to go running through the Order in your pajamas, you better get to his office."

"R-Right," Allen stuttered as he slowly stood up, grimacing as he did so.

"Are you alright, Mr. Walker?" Jeniya asked, worry starting to build back up.

"You do look a little pale," Ryan added.

"I-I'm fine," Allen grimaced, forcing his famous smile back onto his face, "I'm just a little sore from using muscles that I haven't used in three weeks. Don't worry. I'll be back to normal in a day or so."

"You sure?" Jeniya and Ryan questioned.

"I'm sure," Allen said, glancing around the room for his something to wear, "Um…By any chance has Johnny been able to make me some new clothes?"

"No why-" Reever started to say before he realized why, quickly taking off his white jacket, "Here. You can wear this until after the meeting with Komui."

"Thanks Reever!" Allen beamed, quickly putting on the jacket, "I just don't think showing off my scars is the right way to start the morning."

Allen turned back to his bed to face a blushing Lenalee and held out his hand, "Shall we go?"

Nodding, the Chinese girl took the British boy's hand and let herself be led out of the room. Right before Allen shut the door, though, she noticed his make-shift chandelier.

'Aren't those the candles that we put on his cake? How are they still burning?' Lenalee thought to herself as she was led down the hallway.

* * *

"We're what?" everyone in the Komui's office exclaimed.

"Yep! Everyone here is going to Greece to spend a day or so at the ocean! Isn't that marvelous?" Komui announced, clapping his hands.

"What's with this all of the sudden, Komui?" Timothy questioned.

"What? Is it so wrong to give everyone a day off? A fully paid for vacation in one of the most beautiful countries in the world?" Komui smirked as he pranced around, "It's simply wonderful. Everyone's going! Exorcists, Finders, and scientists, though only if they have all of their work down."

"So you're not going?" the entire asked in unison.

"Now that's cruel," Komui pouted, "I'll have you know that I've finished all of my work so I'm completely free to go with you guys."

"Th-That's…great," everyone whimpered.

"Now, shall we be going?" Komui beamed.

"Wait, don't we have to pack?" Allen asked.

"Nope. It's not as if we won't be back by tonight," Komui smiled, "After all, haven't you already been to Greece, Allen?"

"O-oh," Allen stuttered, lightly blushing, "R-Right. I guess if everyone's ready, we can leave immediately."

"Yeah!" the entire room erupted.

* * *

"Is everyone ready?" Allen asked for the nth time as he walked into the 14th's secret room in the ark.

"For the final time Allen, we're all ready. You aren't doing anything wrong," Komui sighed, "Central agreed to it and everything."

"Get on with it Moy-" Kanda started to snap, biting down on his tongue to stop the last word from coming out.

"? Alright then. Everyone get ready," Allen announced as he started to play the all too familiar melody.

Instantly there was bright light coming from one of the many doors near the piano room's door. Knowing what that meant immediately, everyone surged forward towards the door. Allen smiled as he watched his "family" racing to be the first onto the beach. Slowly walking after them, Allen couldn't help but feel slightly light hearted.

'One wish down,' he thought to himself as he came to the gateway, starting to walk through it.

* * *

An unseen wind blew around the room until finally finding it's target in the first candle on Allen's makeshift chandelier. Within a split second, the fire that had managed to stay lit all night was put out on that single candle. As soon as the deed was done, the mysterious wind disappeared from the room; until the next candle's time at least.

* * *

Allen froze as he felt a sudden rush of adrenaline race through his veins. He suddenly became aware of ever injury he had ever received. Every ache that covered his body. Breathing suddenly became difficult. Gasping for breath, Allen noticed his vision starting to get fuzzy. And then, as quickly as the attack arose, all the strange sensations disappeared.

'Ok…that was freaky,' Allen thought to himself.

"Mr. Walker!" Jeniya's voice called out, "Let's go swimming!"

"Ah! Coming!" Allen answered back, rushing towards the water, ignoring the staring redhead to his right.

'What was that all about?' Lavi thought to himself, 'Allen suddenly tensed up and looked as if he was going to pass out.'

Lavi chuckled to himself as he watched Allen face plant into the shallow water near the shoreline, 'He seems to be fine now, though. I'm probably just imagining things.'

* * *

_As the days go on, the weaker you will grow_

_The weaker you grow, the more I enjoy your pain_

_You can try to fight me but it really doesn't matter_

_Cause in the end, all of your weaknesses will drive you insane…_

* * *

_**Mizu: Oooh! Somewhat of a cliff hanger again. A dark little one stanza poem that I wrote. Like it? **_

_**Allen: Am I turning into Kanda or something?**_

_**Mizu: *shrugs* You should know how I write by now Allen. Nothing's set in stone until the very end and even then it's subject to change.**_

_**Lavi: Lots of scene shifts in this chapter.**_

_**Mizu: So? There's nothing wrong with that.**_

_**Lavi: Not saying there is. Just pointing it out. **_

_**Mizu: Hmph. **_

_**Allen: Great…Look what you've done, Lavi! She's in a stubborn mood now.**_

_**Lavi: That's not my fault. *sighs***_

_**Mizu: Well, I'm not really in a stubborn mood. Just tired. So let's bring this to a close, shall we? Reviews are so enjoyed as well are suggestions and ideas. Ciao for now!**_


	13. Chp 12: To The Beach part 2

_**Mizu: I curse the day I ever started letting plot bunnies into my head. Now I can't get rid of them and they just keep multiplying. It doesn't help when I try to find the ones I need for certain stories, the rabbits are off on carrot breaks. GAH! Disclaimer: I don't own -Man. If I did, Leverrier would be dead.

* * *

**_

Chapter twelve: To the beach part two

* * *

"Hey, has anyone seen Link?" Allen asked, as Jeniya and Ryan ganged up on him in a splash fight.

"He had to go back to Central and give some reports," Komui stated as he worked on his Sir Komurin sand sculpture.

"Ah! R-Really?" Allen asked, laughing as he got splashed in the face.

"Yep," Johnny nodded, rushing in to help the two siblings gang up on Allen.

Allen just laughed as he tried to retreat into deeper water, deciding that if Link wasn't there then it was a good thing. It meant that wish log thing actually worked. Smirking to himself, he made a mental note to prepare his cards. This was going to be fun.

"Allen!" Timothy and Lavi shouted, tackling the poor teen mid stride.

After a brief struggle to get out from the cage of arms, Allen dove under the water and started swimming out towards where he saw Kanda doing what he presumed to the equivalent of laps in a pool. He felt like rolling his eyes. Of course, leave it to BaKanda to try and train whilst they were on vacation at a beach. Coming up for air, Allen looked back towards where Jeniya and Ryan stood in the shallows yelling at him for being unfair. Chuckling, the white-haired teen waited until he saw Kanda take a short break before swimming up behind him.

Smiling rather evilly, Allen pounced on the samurai, successfully managing to both dunk and piss off other the older male. Using the now fuming male's back as a spring board, Allen took off in a new direction. He laughed to himself. That was so worth it. Suddenly, he felt something grab his ankle and yank him backwards. After a few moments of struggling, Allen came face to face with a very angry looking Kanda. Knowing what was about to happen, Allen wondered if it was still worth it.

'yeah,' he thought to himself, smirking at the older male's messed up, wet hair, 'Totally worth it.'

He felt as Kanda dunked him, futilely kicking his legs to try and get away, still smirking at the strange turn of advents. When Kanda let him up for air finally, Allen took this chance to latch onto some of Kanda's long hair and yank. It wasn't as hard as he used to but still even to gain a small, soft yelp from the older man who retaliated by pulling on his cheeks. Allen really felt like laughing now. What a sight they must have been? Fighting in the Mediterranean Sea, pulling each other's hair and cheeks. They seemed like feuding brothers.

'That's right,' Allen thought to himself, 'I told Kanda he was like my big brother.'

It was true. Even though he found the Japanese male completely infuriating and an arrogant ass most of the time, he still found that he cared for the other. Not like what he held for Mana and certainly not what his master held for any of the many women he had been with, but he still cared. It was the same when he was Lavi. Yeah, sure he was annoying and way too loud for his own good, but Lavi had grown on him. Smiling gently, Allen finally released Kanda's hair. Kanda stared at the cursed boy in confusion, barely hearing when he whispered something that even made him faintly (and I mean faintly) smile.

"We really are all just like a big huge family," Allen whispered, mainly to himself, as he looked back towards the beach before noticing something, "Eh? Where's Jeniya and Lavi?"

As if on cue, Allen heard the young girl's voice in a song never heard. Not that it mattered. Panic spread across his face as he tried to take off for the beach. Kanda just gaped at him in complete confusion before his normal glare returned to his face when he spotted Lavi and Jeniya on the rabbit's hammer above them. The girl was singing some song and the Moyashi was trying to flee to the beach. Just when he was about to ask what was going on, a giant hand of water rose up from beside him and race towards Allen.

'That's right,' Kanda thought to himself, making his way back to the beach, 'She's the girl that we found with the Moyashi. Her innocence must be her voice and it controls the elements or something. And she's spending time with the usagi. Great…'

"Ah!" Allen screamed as Jeniya finally caught him, "No fair! No using Innocence to catch people!"

"There's no rules here!" Lavi laughed at the failing exorcist, "All that matters is that we caught you!"

"Jerks! I'm injured here!" Allen complained, activating his own innocence, "Let's see how you guys like it!"

A few minutes of randomly trying to slash his was with Edge out of the water…

"What the hell?" Allen screamed at the laughing two on the hammer, "Why can't I get out of this bloody trap!"

"Cause so long as she's singing, she's drawing water up to the hand," Lavi pointed out, "That means even if you manage to cut it, she'll have it fixed before you can get out."

Allen just growled and deactivated his innocence. Lavi let out a small sigh of relief. He couldn't help but start to get worried when Allen activated his innocence. That was the cause of all of this anyway. Of course, Allen didn't know that. All he knew was that he fought a lot of akuma and that he was in a coma for three weeks. That was all.

"Lavi?" Lenalee's voice sounded from behind him on the hammer, "Can I join in?"

"Of course, Lenalee!" Lavi beamed, turning in time to see her jump off the hammer and towards Allen, "Crap…"

Within a split second, Allen was freed and now standing on the hammer as well while Lenalee dove down to the water. Lavi, who knew what was coming, started to freak out and was about to return to the beach when he saw Allen waving his finger in front of him. Calming, the white-haired teen picked up Jeniya, who had just taken a break from singing and dove back down the water below, though closer to the shallows this time. When Lavi managed to process why Allen had done so, plumes of water surrounded him.

Allen set Jeniya in the shallow water as he turned in time to see Lavi barely hanging onto his own hammer, drenched to the bone. Smirking at the redhead's misfortune, Allen felt Jeniya and Ryan start to splash him again. Smiling gently at the two kids that he saved, Allen started up their splash fight once again.

'Maybe this is what he…' Allen started to think, shaking his head, 'Nah. Let's not focus on him right now…'

* * *

"Lunch time!" Jerry's voice shouted over everyone on the beach.

Everyone rushed over to where the chef has set up his temporary kitchen to grab their meal before Allen did. Allen just laughed when he saw everyone's shocked face when he helped Jeniya and Ryan through the crowd with his huge cart of food.

'They should know by now,' Allen thought to himself as he settle the two kids at the table with his fellow exorcists, 'Nobody will ever beat me when it comes to food.'

"Allen!" Krory exclaimed, rushing up to the white-haired male, "You know what we should do?"

"What?" Allen asked as he started on his meal with a large watermelon.

"We should have an eating contest!" Krory proclaimed, causing everyone to nearly do spit takes.

"Are you insane, Kuro-chan?" Lavi gasped, "We all know that Allen would win!"

"Yeah! There's no way we could hope to beat him-" Timothy started to say.

"Well, what if I eat a bunch first then we hold it?" Allen asked, shoving food down his throat, "That way I'll nearly be full and you'd guys have a good chance at winning."

"I suppose that could work," Lavi thought out loud, "Alright! I'm in!"

"Me too!" Lenalee beamed.

"Of course I'm in!" Timothy exclaimed, raising his hand high.

"Me as well!" Krory added.

"What about you, BaKanda?" Allen snickered, working on his own plate of soba, though slowly.

"Sure, I'll join in," Kanda smirked, nearly biting his lip for the next word, "Allen."

Allen's eyes widened as he started to choke.

"Wah! Allen!" Lavi and Ryan screamed, rushing to the choking boy's side.

* * *

"Ah~! That was fun!" Allen beamed, patting his stomach, "I'm surprised that I didn't win that."

"Me too…" Lavi groaned as Komui placed a blue ribbon in his bright red hair, "my stomach…"

"Poor Lavi," Lenalee soothed.

"I've got to admit that that was funny seeing you two going at it against each other," Timothy stated.

"What surprised me the most was when Allen gave up first," Miranda stated, "I never thought I'd ever see the day when he'd be completely full…I'm sorry Allen! I didn't mean it like that!"

"Haha, that's alright Miranda," Allen laughed.

"Baka usagi had it coming though," Kanda snorted, which was probably the closest thing Allen had ever heard to laughter from the stoic man, "He was trying to shovel the food into his mouth like a hippo. Or a Moy-"

Allen looked at Kanda when he heard his hated nickname cut sort. He tried to suppress his laughter when he saw Kanda covering his mouth with both hands.

'How could this day get any better?' Allen thought to himself as Jeniya dragged him off to help her make a sandcastle.

"Oh, Allen! You get a second place prize!" Komui smirked, handing Allen an envelope.

"Hm?" Allen tilted his head as he looked at the parcel.

"Whatcha get Allen?" Lenalee questioned, pretending to look over his shoulder.

Everyone flinched as they watched as Allen was engulfed by flames. They all looked at Komui with sweat drops. Lavi tried to find something to hide under when Allen started to chuckle darkly.

"H-He's gone black!" Lavi shouted, ducking under the table.

"Thank you Komui," Allen snickered, horns on his head slowly starting to retract, "This just made today a million times better."

"Nii-san," Lenalee whimpered as Allen and Jeniya made their way to an unoccupied corner of the beach, "What did you give him?"

"W-We managed to get him pardoned from paying most of Cross's debts within Europe," Komui whispered, "D-Didn't think that it mean so much to him…"

* * *

"Hey, I can see my house from here~!" Lavi laughed, standing on the edge of Allen's very tall sand castle, "I've always wanted to say that."

"Ah!" Jeniya gasped when she noticed Lavi.

"Oi! Lavi! Get down!" Allen shouted, stomping his foot, "You'll make the entire thing collapse!"

"Oh come on, Allen!" Lavi teased, "You made this thing so well that it really shouldn'-"

On cue, the redheaded usagi fell flat on his face as the castle collapsed.

"Lavi," Allen growled when he saw the tears in Jeniya's eyes.

"I-It was an accident, Allen!" Lavi cried, scurrying backwards, "Komui!"

"Right! Now, it's time for our main even for the night! A poker tournament!" Komui announced, standing on top of his Komurin sculpture.

"Poker?" Allen turned to face the scientist, "Since when did you guys have this all planned out?"

"Eh! A-A couple of weeks ago of course!" Reever intervened, "Now who wants to play? We've got several tables set up! Though, it's not really a tournament. Basically you play the people at your table until there's only one left. Then you're done. Alright?"

"Okay," Allen shrugged, taking Jeniya's hand, "Wanna watch me beat Lavi in revenge for ruining our castle?"

"Defiantly!" Jeniya nodded rapidly.

"Oh yeah?" Lavi smirked, "We'll just see who's beating who after the first few rounds!"

'There's no way he can cheat tonight,' Lavi thought, 'He's not in a long sleeve shirt, Timcampy won't be allowed at the table, he doesn't have any gloves on. Plus he was just in the water so there's no way that he'd have his cards in his swimming trunks. Tonight's going to be so much fun!'

* * *

"Call!" Allen chanted for the nth time.

"R-Royal Straight Flush!" Lavi, Komui, Kanda, and Reever, "Not again!"

"How the heck his he cheating?" Komui whispered frantically to Lavi.

"I don't know!" Lavi cried.

"It's just Lavi and Komui now," Allen beamed.

"I'm still in, Moy-A-Allen," Kanda nearly shouted.

"You don't have anything left to gamble, Kanda," Allen sighed, "Unless you're going to start gambling-"

Kanda quickly put down his hair tye and twenty actual dollars instead of the chips they were playing with. Allen felt his jaw drop.

"…cloths," Allen finished, "Alright."

"Yay~! Mr. Walker!" Jeniya chanted, guarding his mountain of chips by sitting on them.

"This is unreal," Ryan whimpered as he sat on the other side of his sister.

"There's no way that this Moyashi is going to beat me," Kanda muttered under his breath, glaring at the white-haired teen who suddenly had horns on his head.

"Are you two in or out?" Allen asked, smiling politely at the other two.

"I-In," they stuttered.

Five minutes later…

"I'll raise you seven chips," Allen smirked.

"I-I'm all in," Lavi sighed, throwing in his bandana for good measures.

"M-Me too," Komui whimpered, doing the same with his beret.

"Kanda?" Allen chuckled slightly.

The samurai had a dark aura surrounding him as he threw down his cards and stomped away in a huff.

"I suppose that means he folds," Allen laughed slightly, "Alright. Call!"

"I've got…nothing," Komui admitted.

"I've got two of a kind," Lavi sighed.

"And I've got four of a kind," Allen smirked, placing Komui's beret on his head and Lavi's bandana on Jeniya, "That was fun. We should have poker nights more often."

"I-I don't think we should," Lavi whimpered.

"Aww, you're just a little sore because you lost ever single time," Allen chuckled darkly as he lifted Jeniya onto his shoulders, "Hey, Jeniya. You wanna go for one last swim before we have to head back?"

"Yeah~!" Jeniya cheered as Allen carried her to the sea.

"I-Is he always like that?" Ryan stuttered, "He's…"

"Bipolar?" Lavi finished, "Yeah. That's just Allen. Try not to get on his Black side. You do not want to have to fight it."

* * *

"Alright everyone~!" Komui clapped, atop of Sand-komurin, "It's time to head back to the Order~! Allen? If you'll do us the honor of opening the gate for us."

"Right away, Komui~!" Allen beamed.

'Today was pretty great,' Allen thought as the gate slowly reopened.

"Mr. Walker," Jeniya said, tugging on Allen's right hand.

"Yes, Jeniya?" Allen smiled gently.

"We never got to give you our Christmas present for you," Jeniya beamed, holding out a poorly wrapped gift.

"For me? Thank you," Allen said, gently ruffling the tiny girl's hair.

"Open it!" Jeniya squealed happily, causing Ryan to smack his face in embarrassment.

"Right, right," Allen chuckled, slowly opening the present.

Once he managed to open the tape covered paper, Allen nearly dropped the present. It was a picture frame. Just a plain black picture frame. But what was in the picture frame was caused Allen's heart to swell with many emotions. In the frame was a hand drawn picture of him, Jeniya, Lavi, Ryan, Lenalee, Kanda, and even Komui. It wasn't very well drawn but Allen didn't care. Smiling down at the girl that he had rescued several weeks ago, Allen felt a few tears in his eyes.

"W-Why'd you go through all of this trouble to make this, Jeniya?" Allen asked, trying to keep it from breaking.

"Because I wanted to!" Jeniya responded, making even Ryan smile, "Even though we've really only known each other for a weeks, even less cause you were out cold for so long, you mean a lot to me! That's why I wanted to give you that! It's a picture of you and a bunch of people that are close with you!"

"Th-Thank you," Allen said softly, kneeling in front of the small girl and pulling her into a tight hug, gently kisses her head, "This is the best present I've ever received."

"Really?" the young girl squealed again.

"Really," Allen nodded, "Let's go home, you two."

"Right," Ryan smiled, leading the way with his sister close on his heels.

As they passed through the gate, Allen looked back at the beach then at the picture. This day really had been perfect. Maybe he needed to rethink some of his wishes.

'That's five more down,' Allen thought with a smile.

* * *

Link looked up from his book as he suddenly felt a strong gust of wind hit him. It was strange. The door to Walker's room was shut and so was his window. Where had it come from? Suddenly, his lighting was diminished by something. The Crow looked up at the make-shift chandelier. One by one, five of the remaining fifteen candles blew out by that strange wind. Raising his eyebrow at the strange occurrence, Link slowly stood up and walked out the door, the wind following him out. It was time to start up with his Crow duties again.

* * *

Allen fell to his knees as pain coursed through his veins. His lungs felt like they were on fire. Gasping for breath, he brought his left hand up to grasp at his chest. It was just like earlier only far more intense. It seemed as if every single scar that he had ever acquired was going to reopen. His left eye was acting up too. It acted like it did when it tried to seek out the akuma but this time it too was different. It just kept darting back and forth, as if searching for something to end this pain. His entire body started to shake before he went into a violent coughing fit. Bringing his left hand up to his mouth, Allen fought to figure out what was going on. This shouldn't have been happening. What was going on!

And just like last time, as fast as the strange symptoms arrived, they had disappeared. Taking a few minutes to check his breath, Allen stared at his left hand. There was blood in it. Using his left arm, he quickly wiped his chin off and stood up on shaky legs. Stumbling the rest of the way out of the ark, he was met up with a very agitated looking Crow. Trying to give him the best smile he could, Allen followed behind the blonde male as he was scolded for taking so long. Neither noticed the redhead that stood in a corner, shocked from what he had seen.

'My mind wasn't tricking me earlier!' Lavi yelled at himself, 'There's something wrong with Allen! I've got to go tell Komui.'

With that, the redheaded bookman ran through the many hallways of the Order to the Chief's office.

* * *

_Foolish child, do you really think that you can fight it?_

_You know that this is happening, so why deny it?_

_Just because you pretend, doesn't make it any less true._

_Who are you trying to protect? Them or just you?_

* * *

_**Mizu: *hiding from Komui and Allen* S-Sorry for such a jumpy chapter. I'm getting kind a bad at that huh?**_

_**Allen: WHERE IS SHE?**_

_**Lavi: Wh-What did you do to him this time? He's riding on top of Sir Komurin with Komui trying to find you!**_

_**Mizu: Th-That's a secret…Okay, I really don't know. All I know is that he's upset at me and really means to hurt me. So I hide. **_

_**Lavi: Smart.**_

_**Mizu: Anyways, reviews of all kinds are extremely welcomed. Ciao for now and if I don't upload anything until after Christmas, Happy Holidays everyone~!**_


	14. Chp 13: Protecting Tears

_**Mizu: Yahoo! Another chapter done! Plus, I'm not tired! Yay for semi-sleeping in. Meaning I went to be later than normal but managed to sleep passed my normal time to wake up by an hour. Woot! Disclaimer: I don't own -Man. If I did, Link would still be awesome (really starting to like him) and Leverrier would be killed by Tyki. **_

_**Thanks to Kaido1412 and tentsubasa for pointing out that I've basically been calling Komui "big sister" this entire time. To Komui I'm sorry. To you guys, I give the pathetic excuse of that I'm American, though I know that has nothing to do with it. I apologize for my horrid spelling. Now, onto the chapter!**_

* * *

_Chapter 13- Protecting Tears…__**

* * *

**_

"Are you certain!" Komui shouted, startling the two scientists who came in.

"Positive," Lavi nodded, "There's no doubt in my mind about this."

Komui just collapsed into his chair and stared blankly at the wall, "Wh-Why…"

"I think that it's because we did so much today," Lavi sighed, running his hand through his hair, "After all, Allen did just wake up yesterday so doing so much so soon probably put a bunch of strain on his body."

"That would make sense…" Komui sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "I-I'll keep him off of missions for a bit."

"You'll do no such thing," Leverrier's voice sounded from the doorway.

"Leverrier," Komui muttered as Lavi glared at the man who walked into the office.

"You and I had a deal," Leverrier snickered, "I let you grant all of Walker's wishes and you have him do anything I want him to do. And right now, I want him out in the field setting up gates."

"But he's in no condition to go out yet!" Komui protested, "I did not agree to send him out only to bring him back in a casket!"

"He's going to die either way," Leverrier smirked, "And from what bookman jr. here told you, it sounds like that fate isn't that far off."

"Bastard," Lavi growled.

"I suggest you pick out which exorcist is going to accompany him and send them off to the first set of coordinates by morning, Komui," Leverrier said with a sneer, walking out of the office with an arrogant air.

"Damn him," Lavi snarled, turning back to Komui, "I'll go with Allen. He said that he didn't want to go on these types of missions without me or Lenalee. I'll go with him first then you can send Lenalee to meet up with him later."

"R-Right," Komui whimpered as Johnny and Reever rushed to the desk.

"H-He's insane," Reever stuttered.

"H-He's going to kill Allen…" Johnny stated, tears in his eyes, "We just got him back too…"

"Lavi," Komui said, standing up, "Take Jeniya and Ryan with you. They need experience and…"

"I know, Komui," Lavi said, sad smile slowly appearing on his face, "I know…"

* * *

Five Months Later…

"What do you mean I've got to go to Siberia!" Allen yelled into the phone, "I just got finished in Kenya! How on this bloody planet am I supposed to make it to Siberia before the end of the week? I've never been anywhere close to it!"

"Sorry Allen," Reever sighed through the phone, "Leverrier wants you to place one last gate before coming back for a rest."

"This is total bullshit!" Allen cursed, slamming the phone down on the receiver, "That blasted man is insane!"

Allen stomped over to where his group was seated, fidgeting in the lobby of their hotel. His killer aura was clearly evident as he plopped down on a couch between Lavi and Lenalee. Lavi slowly patted the frustrated teen on his head, hoping to defuse the situation.

"H-Hey no worries, Allen!" Lavi stuttered, "We could always stop by the Asian Branch and you can have another rematch with Fou!"

"Yeah, that sounds like fun~!" Lenalee beamed.

"You two don't remember what happened, do you?" Allen smirked, glaring at the Crow sitting opposite of him.

'Of course we do,' Lavi thought to himself, 'After fighting for a while with your left arm tied behind your back, you untied it and completely flatten her. To say that Bak was shocked is an understatement.'

"Okay!" Jeniya beamed, rushing into the room with her brother, "We're ready to go!"

"Great!" Allen chuckled, killing aura finally dispersed, "We've got to drop Lenalee off at the train station then we're off to Siberia."

"Siberia!" Ryan snapped, "Why the heck are we going there?"

"Because Central likes making our lives hell," Allen sighed, motioning for everyone to follow him out the door.

Lenalee stared at Allen as they walked down the street sadly. He was starting to walk with a limp and every now and then had severe coughing fits. Every time this happened, Lenalee and Lavi had to fight not to cry. Even if he tried to hide it, it was clear to see. It wouldn't be long till was gone. Lenalee looked over at Lavi who was unconsciously wiping his single eye for tears. They swore that they wouldn't cry in front of him. No matter how much they wanted to.

"Here we are Lenalee," Allen announced, coming to a stop outside of the train station, "It's too bad that you've got another mission to go to. See you when you get back to headquarters."

"Yeah…Allen?" Lenalee said, gently grabbing the sleeve of his new uniform.

"Yes?" Allen smiled, the fake one that he still used on everyone.

"Take care of yourself. You still aren't totally healed," Lenalee stated, a sad smile on her own lips.

Allen's mask of happiness faltered to let a genuine smile shine through, "Thanks Lenalee. I will."

* * *

"You there! Raise that banner a little higher!" Komui ordered as entire science section, a few choice finders, and all exorcists back at the moment prepared for the arrival of the long missing teen.

"Is Jerry ready for the feast?" Reever asked a random scientist.

"Yes!" the answer came from several others.

"They're coming!" Johnny shouted out happily, rushing to his spot next to Komui.

"Stop bugging me, Lavi!" Allen's irritated voice sounded from just inside of the ark, "All I want to do is eat and go to bed when we get-!"

"Welcome home!" the order erupted, everyone smiling with a few tears in their eyes the second the group walked through the ark.

"-home," Allen finished, smiling warmly at the sight in front of them, "It's good to be home."

"Allen~!" Johnny beamed, jumping up and down, "How'd your new uniform fit ya?"

"Great Johnny!" Allen beamed, walking up to Komui with a thick folder, "Here's our mission report."

"Well done Allen," Komui said softly, gently ruffling the teen's white hair.

"So…" Allen started to say, biting his lip and looking up at the Chinese man with big, pleading, silver eyes.

"S-So?" Komui stuttered.

"Am I finally finished setting up gates? Does Central no longer need me to do that?" Allen said, a pleading tone escaping him.

"Yes," Komui nodded, smiling as he watched Allen's eyes light up as that burden was finally lifted from him.

"Thank goodness," Ryan whined, "I was getting tired of following these idiots around all the time."

"Says the boy who was tricked into going in a brothel because a woman promised him a sweet little treat if he helped her out with something," Allen practically growled.

"Gotta admit, I never saw Allen so frantic while we tried to find you," Lavi laughed, messing up the young boy's hair, "I think he went all OPD!"

"OPD?" everyone questioned.

"Overprotective daddy of course!" Lavi exclaimed, instantly covering his mouth and nervously shot Allen a glance.

The white-haired male just held his head down as his shoulders slowly slumped. Lavi cursed himself and rushed to his side.

"You alright, Allen?" Lavi asked, gently putting his hand on the other's shoulder, "I'm sorry, dude. It just kinda slipped out, you know?"

"I know, Lavi," Allen whimpered, breaking through the enormous crowd.

As soon as no one could see that blatant head of hair, all eyes settled upon Lavi.

"Well," Lavi sighed, running a hand through his hair, "I found out why his wish to visit Mana's grave was so cold while we were out and about."

"And?" Komui questioned.

"Allen's really starting to question whether or not Mana loved him as a son," Lavi stated sadly, "He's worried that he's truly really never had a father. So now, at least for a little bit, the word "father" is taboo…"

"Lavi?" Ryan sounded from next to him, "Allen does know that I'm sorry for worrying him right?"

"Huh?" Lavi gaped at the young child.

"I still feel bad for worrying him," Ryan admitted, looking at the ground, "I can't get that night out of my head. I remember the head lady there trying to get me to become their slave or something then hearing Allen yelling out my name. The next thing I knew, the door was kicked open and Allen was standing in the doorway, completely pissed off. One of the ladies was about to yell at him when they recognized him as Cross's kid and ran out of their so fast. Then Allen was on his knees in front of me, scolding me for being so stupid. I saw Jeniya clinging to his jacket, relieved that you guys found me…"

Lavi just smiled when Ryan looked up at him with sort of a confused face, "Then he hugged me. He pulled me into a really tight hug and started saying "Thank goodness" and "I was so worried" over and over again into my shoulder. I couldn't help it then. I was so happy that you guys had found me that I decided to just go with it and let my tears out. But after that, Allen seemed a little more snappish with me. Was what I did wrong?"

"Of course not, kid," Lavi chuckled, ruffling his hair again, "As I said, Allen's been in OPD mode for a while. He was really afraid that night of what might have happened to you. I think it awoke some instinct in him or something. And he's snappish because he's still afraid. Though, this time it's more of what he's feeling rather than what you've done."

"Then I wonder if I should tell him the good news," Johnny whispered.

"Good news?" Komui asked.

"Yeah. I found something helpful," Johnny smiled, whispering the secret to Lavi.

Two minutes later in the cafeteria…

"Allen!" Lavi and Johnny shouted, practically pouncing on the feasting teen.

"What!" Allen gasped, flinching when they clung to his shoulders.

"You'll never guess what Johnny found out for ya!" Lavi exclaimed, tears in his eyes.

"? What is it, Johnny?" Allen sighed, slowly eating his soup and trying to figure out why he could barely stomach soup anymore.

"I found out who your biological parents are!" Johnny blurted out.

Allen's face was priceless as he spat out his soup across his table and hitting Link, who sat across from him, with it in the face. His eyes were wide as he slowly turned to face the grinning scientist.

"F-For real?" Allen gaped, trying to keep his voice from breaking.

"Yep!" Johnny beamed.

"That's…that's," Allen whimpered, tears welling up in his eyes as he exploded out of his seat and tackling the scientist with a hug, "that's amazing Johnny!"

"See! I told you he'd love you for this!" Lavi laughed as he watched his friend's shoulders shake slightly.

"C-Can I go see them some time soon?" Allen asked, slowly releasing the stunned scientist.

"Of course," Johnny smiled, "Komui said that you and a few other exorcists or finders could go visit them sometime next week."

"That's so great," Allen said, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Speaking of Komui, I need to go talk to him about where that old panda is," Lavi snickered, patting Allen on his head, "Go get some rest, mister."

"R-Right!" Allen nodded happily, quickly finishing his meal and racing off to his room, dragging Link with him.

* * *

"Hey Komui," Lavi sighed, flopping down on the couch.

"You know, I think I should have just hired you as my messenger," Komui chuckled, "You do it anyways."

"Haha, funny," Lavi chuckled weakly.

"So…" Komui sighed, "Did Allen have any more attacks while you guys were out on your mission?"

"Just two. One right after he set up the first gate and then another after he beat Fou," Lavi stated, scratching his head, "From what I've seen, these attacks only happen after one of his wishes because they put a new stress on his body. But other than that, I can't make sense of them."

"This is just too weird," Komui shuddered, "So what would you say the status of his life would be?"

"He doesn't seem to be as far along as the Head Nurse predicted he would be at five months but he is starting to show signs that his life is running out," Lavi whimpered, rubbing his eye for tears.

"M-maybe h-he'll live to his next birthday after all," Komui tried to smile.

"M-Maybe so," Lavi nodded, before whimpering, "or maybe not…"

They both remained silent for a long time. Neither wanted to admit that the latter of the two choices was the most possible. There was truly no way that Allen would see his next birthday…

"S-So have you found anyway to slow down this?" Lavi asked, extremely hopeful though doubtful.

"Well, I do have a theory but I'm afraid to test it out," Komui admitted, "It'll either slow it down or do nothing but piss him off."

Lavi let out a small laugh, "Well, if those are our only two outcomes, then let's try it."

* * *

Allen looked up from his book to look at his window as thunder crashed yet again. Sighing, Allen really wished that the sun would come out. It had been raining for at least four days now and he wasn't allowed to leave his room unless it was to go to the bathroom. Apparently that was because Link was constantly at a conference with someone, most likely Leverrier, about their mission. Lavi or Toma would bring him his meals and Link took his chair out of his room so he couldn't even do his favorite form of training. Stretching in his bed a bit, Allen groaned was a blinding flash of lightning shone through his window.

"I really need to consider getting curtains," Allen sighed.

He was really starting to hate free time. Why had he ever wished for it? Now that he had it, there was nothing to do but stare at the candles that remained lit. Allen sadly smiled at them. He had noticed that after a wish was granted, one of the candles blew out. It was sort of like Kanda's lotus in that manner he supposed. He just hoped that that didn't mean when the final candle's flame went out that his life went with it.

"I kind of wish that Komui would give me that wish log back so I can add a few more wishes," Allen thought aloud, "I've got a few new ones."

Rolling onto his stomach, Allen stared as rain pounded against his window. Though he really wished he hadn't. Whenever he saw rain now, it reminded him of all the tears that were going to come when his time was finally up. He knew for sure that most of the scientists would cry along with a hysterical Miranda and Krory. So would Timothy and Jeniya and Ryan. Jeniya would cry the most out of everyone. Lavi would join in from time to time, whenever he was away from Bookman and could drown himself in the sorrow that he shouldn't have. Komui would probably blame himself for everything and cry all by himself somewhere.

"He'll probably go cry with Jerry, actually," Allen forced himself to chuckle with the image of the two of them crying hysterically together.

Heck, he bet even Bookman and Kanda would shed at least one tear. And Link? Possibly. The cursed teen had to admit that the Crow had grown on him. He really wasn't that bad once you got to know him. Plus, he really did try to minimize the amount of trouble Allen got in. But he had orders that he had to follow and Allen couldn't be upset at him for that.

Then there was Lenalee. Allen could feel his own tears welling up in his eyes. She probably the one person out of everyone else that he wanted to make cry the least. She meant to much to him and he hated the thought of hurting her. It was inevitable though. He was going to die and she would cry. She'd probably go cling to everyone at least once as they cremated his body. Allen shuddered. He really didn't like the fact that the order didn't bury their deceased. It seemed so…finally. At least with a grave, you had a place where the person's body rested so you could have that peace at least.

"Mana…" Allen whimpered, clinging to his pillow.

That was right. He nearly forgot one of his wishes was to go visit Mana's grave. Sighing, Allen realized just now what he really wanted from that wish. To put his heart to rest. He'd already come to grips about the Noah, who was being surprisingly quiet lately, and was slowly coming to about Mana and his Master. Not that everything was making sense yet.

"Gah!" Allen shouted, shoving his face into his pillow, "I curse you, blasted free time!"

There was a gentle knocking at his door and Allen jumped up, praying that it was Link to free him from this blasted torturous room of nothing. Instead, he found Jeniya with tears covering her cheeks.

"Jeniya," Allen whispered, kneeling in front of her, "What's wrong?"

"…" she just stood there fidgeting until there was another loud crash of thunder, sending her shrieking into Allen's chest.

"A-are you afraid of storms, Jeniya?" Allen asked, gently picking the frightened little girl up.

She just nodded, clinging to him for dear life.

"Shh, it's alright," Allen gently smiled, sitting down on his bed with her, "It's gonna be alright."

Allen gently rocked the crying girl in his arms for a long time. All the while, he couldn't help but wonder where her brother was. It wasn't like them to be separated.

"Th-The rain's scary…" Jeniya whimpered.

"Huh? The rain? How is it scary?" Allen chuckled lightly.

"It's loud and sometimes when it rains it gets really dark and then thunders," Jeniya said.

"That's true but there's nothing to be afraid of, silly," Allen gently smiled, "It's not dangerous. Just loud."

Jeniya flinched and hid her face in Allen's chest as another flash of lightning streaked across their window.

"Shhh, it's okay," Allen soothed again, "I'm right here. Don't worry cause I'll protect you."

As the rain continued to pound on the glass, Allen pulled a blanker over the small girl as she cuddled up next to him. Still rocking her back and forth, the cursed teen tried to figure out something that would help calm her down.

"Hey, you wanna know why it rains?" Allen asked.

Jeniya just nodded.

"Well, depending on what you believe, the rain helps purify the earth, nourishing all the plants and flowing into the streams where fish and other live lives. We all need the rain for that reason," Allen explained, staring at the girl with a warm smile, "But there's another reason for why I think it rains."

"Wh-what is it?" Jeniya asked.

Allen took a deep breath. This was going to be hard for what he was about to say, he couldn't actually say he believed in. After all, what would an orphan know of it?

"I believe that when it rains, it's all of our loved ones in heaven's tears," Allen stated, staring at the window.

"Th-they're crying?" Jeniya blinked, "Why?"

"Because they're watching over us, silly," Allen beamed, "They're watching over us and crying tears of happiness because they see how we've grown up to be."

"B-But what if-"

"And if we didn't grow up the way they planned for us, they're probably still crying out of joy that we're still alive and with all the others we love. There may be a few tears of sadness mixed in when they see us do something bad or see us sad or afraid, but they're still happy," Allen said, a few tears in his eyes.

Jeniya remained silent for a second before looking up at the sky through the window.

"Mommy…Daddy…" she whispered, "I'm sorry that I was afraid of the rain. I didn't know that it was you looking down on me. I probably made you sad because I was afraid of your tears."

Allen felt the tiny girl crawl out of his arms and walked up to the window, a small smile on her lips, "But I'm not scared anymore. No, I'm just happy now. Because of Mr. Walker. He made me happy just like you did. He's like daddy…No, that's no right."

Allen's eyes widened when he heard the next words out of her mouth, "He is my daddy. That's why I'm happy. I have two daddies now. One watching over me from heaven and one that walks beside me here. I'll try hard not to be afraid anymore. I'll just be happy for you."

With that, the little girl crawled back into the bed and into Allen's limp arms. She didn't notice the tears that were rolling down his cheeks. She didn't notice the hand that covered his mouth, drowning out his whimpers. This tiny child just snuggled herself into his strong chest, melting his injured heart even further.

'I'm her daddy?' Allen thought to himself, 'When…I can't be…I mean, being a dad means being protective. Always trying to make her laugh. Making sure she's always happy. Worried about her constantly. Strict even though I want her to have everything she wants. That's everything I…I…I am…'

Allen wrapped his arms around the small child and help her close as a few more silent tears fell from his eyes.

"Mr. Walker?" Jeniya sounded.

"Y-Yes?" Allen stuttered.

"Well…Could I call you papa?" Jeniya asked, a little nervous, "I mean I've really wanted to for a while but…"

It took a second but slowly Allen smiled happily and nodded, "Yeah. Yeah you can."

"Yay," Jeniya chuckled before looking back at the window, "Have you ever been afraid of the rain, Papa?"

"Yeah, I was," Allen nodded, looking at the window, "I was terrified of it before I met Mana. Whenever it would rain, he would let me crawl into his bed and stay by his side until it had passed. After awhile, I learned that the rain wasn't anything to be afraid of and whenever it rained, I would smile and laugh and dance around in it like a big idiot. And Mana would just stand there and laugh until I dragged him in it with me."

"Mana sounds like a good man," Jeniya smiled, yawning a little.

Allen flinched and sighed, "Yeah. He was a good man…"

"P-Papa?" Jeniya questioned.

"Yes?" Allen answered.

"Earlier, you said that you would protect me," Jeniya stated, "Does that mean you'll always protect me?"

"Of course," Allen gently chuckled, "I'll always protect you."

"…Y-You mean forever?" Jeniya stuttered, remembering the horrid truth about her papa's remaining life.

Allen sighed and made the small girl look at him, "Yes but I may not always be right by your side. You may not even see me, but I'll protect you. When I die, I'll still be here to protect you. I need you to understand that. That if you need me, I'll always come rushing to you and help you out. You got that?"

Jeniya just nodded and wiped a few stray tears away. After a few minutes of silent, Allen shifted the two of them so that he was leaning against his headboard with a few pillows behind his back and Jeniya resting peacefully against his chest. It wasn't long before Allen shut his eyes, gently falling into the oblivion known as sleep. Jeniya, however, stayed awake. She slowly and carefully sat up and looked out the window to the sky.

'Mom, dad. I know that Papa doesn't have anyone that he knows of up there other than Mana but I don't think that Papa thinks of him as a dad anymore. I know there isn't anyone up there that's happy for him, so could you do me this favor?' Jeniya prayed, little hands clasped together, 'Could you be the ones that are crying in happiness for him? He's really a great man, even if he holds a darkness within him. I don't want him to be the only one of all of us to not have someone up there happy for him. And also, instead of just protecting Ryan and me, could you protect Papa too? He's always the one that's saves everyone, but who's the one that saves him?'

Jeniya looked at her sleeping papa's face and smiled. She slowly kissed the pentacle above his left eye before settling down to sleep.

"Night Papa…" Jeniya yawned before she too fell into sleep's welcoming embrace.

* * *

_**Mizu: Awww! Sappy chappie! Not really my style but I still like none the less. What did you guys think?**_

_**Lenalee: I was barely even in it… I thought this was AllenXLenalee**_

_**Mizu: It is but I haven't gotten that far.**_

_**Lavi: I'm curious what Komui's planning to do…**_

_**Mizu and Komui: *snickers evilly* Wouldn't you like to know?**_

_**Mizu: Ahem. Anyways, Reviews are still extremely welcomed and well enjoyed. Same goes for suggestions. Ciao for now!**_


	15. Chp 14: My Family

_**Mizu: I'm on a roll…but this chapter really is just another filler chapter. Well, at least one part is. That part was just something totally random that I thought up about while babysitting a few kids. I apologize for the randomness of it and promise that the next chapter will actually have a pretty plot to it. Disclaimer: I don't own -Man.**_

* * *

_Chapter 14- My family…_

* * *

"Okay Lavi. Here's the plan," Komui snickered as they stood outside of Allen's bedroom, "Right now, Allen is sleeping with Jeniya in his arms-"

"Really?" Lavi nearly squealed, "That's just like Allen. Helping his scared little girl through the night. Awww, I bet he looks really cute!"

"Focus!" Komui snapped, glasses gleaming, "You need to go in and wake him up."

"Why?" Lavi snapped, "Shouldn't we let him sleep?"

"Do you want to slow this process down or what!" Komui snapped back.

"Lavi!" Ryan's frantic voice sounded from down the hallway, "Have you guys seen Jeniya? I went to the cafeteria to get something to eat a while ago and when I made it back to our room, she was gone!"

"Don't worry. She's in there asleep with your dad," Komui snickered.

"Thank good-" Ryan started to say, "Why did you just call him my dad!"

"Oh that? I was staking out his room when I heard Jeniya ask him if she could call him Papa," Komui smirked.

"For real?" Lavi gasped, excited beyond belief, "What Allen say to that?"

"Yes," Komui winked with a big thumbs up.

"Woot! Allen's a papa!" Lavi exclaimed, doing a strange dance in the middle of the hallway with a tear in his eye, "He gets to know the joy of having kids!"

Ryan sweat dropped as he watched the redhead continued his dance until a finder walked by. Then the bookman apprentice made do with shaking the poor guys hand violent, a wide grin on his face.

"Why do you seem to be the one that's so happy about that?" Ryan asked.

"Cause that means I'm an uncle!" Lavi cheered, scaring off the finder.

"In what sick world do you live in is it that you're Jeniya's and my uncle if our dad is Allen!" Ryan ranted.

"What? You didn't know? I adopted Moyashi-chan as my little brother!" Lavi smirked, "So if he adopts you two, then you're my niece and nephew."

"I'm doomed," Ryan whimpered, curled up in a depression ball.

"Ahem, Lavi. We need to get on with the plan," Komui finally called out.

"Right!" Lavi was by his side in an instant, "So after I wake him up, what do I do?"

"Give him this drink," Komui started, handing him Allen's coffee mug.

"That's all!" Lavi snapped, "Why not give it to him later?"

"Lenalee isn't back yet, dummy," Komui explained, "Why would he be getting "coffee" from you anyways? So we have to get him to drink it while he's still waking up."

"Oh, that makes more sense," Lavi said, taking the mug and opening the door, "Leave it to me!"

Quietly, Lavi slowly made his way over to where Allen laid passed out on his bed; Jeniya spawled out on top of him with sheets and pillows kicked off the bed. Placing the mug on the side table, Lavi gently picked up Jeniya and carried her out to her still depressed brother. After gently kicking him out of it, he placed the sleeping beauty in his arms before returning to Allen's bedside. Gulping, Lavi gently shook the teen until he started to wake up.

"Allen?" Lavi asked, trying to imitate Lenalee the best he could, "It's time to get up. I brought you some coffee. Would you like some?"

"S-sure," Allen groaned, speech still slurred as he slowly sat up with his fuzzy mind and messing hair.

"Here you go!" Lavi stated, still doing his best to imitate the female exorcist, placing the mug in front of his face.

"Thanks Lena," Allen said, a very slight blush on his face as he took the mug.

Lavi shot out of that room faster than anyone had thought possible. For several reasons too. A.) He didn't want to be in the room when Allen realized that he just drank something made by Komui. B.) He didn't want Allen to realize that he wasn't Lenalee (couldn't believe that he bought that). C.) Allen just called who he thought was Lenalee "Lena" while blushing. Lavi chuckled evilly when he realized what it meant. D.) Allen just called who he thought was Lenalee "Lena" while blushing. Komui was going crazy in the hallway, proclaiming that if he wasn't already dieing, he'd kill the order's favorite white-haired teen, loading his octo-guns all the while.

The heard the shattering of the mug followed by a violent coughing fit. Lavi lunged at Komui and started to strangle the man, fearing what he just gave his little brother was actually making him worse. While the two crazies fought outside of his door, Allen was finally fully awake and realized just what had happened to him.

"AAAHHHH!" A child like voice screamed from the said room.

"Allen!" Lavi gasped, rushing into the room only to stumble backwards and into Komui, "What the hell! H-He's-"

"I'm a fucking little brat!" Allen screamed, a few tears in his eyes, as he jumped out of the bed to attack Komui.

Allen was right to an extent. He was little but he didn't look like a little brat. He looked just like a cute nine year old boy. His shirt now came to mid-thigh and he was struggling to get out of the trap of his pants. His snow white hair was no more. In it's place was a messing mop of thick auburn hair. He still had the scar over his left eye though and his left arm didn't change back into it's first form. Plus all the other scars seemed to be there as well. So basically he exactly the same except tinier and with brown hair. To say Allen wasn't amuse would be a grave understatement.

"I'm gonna kill you, Komui!" Allen shouted, his voice also effected by change.

Komui and Lavi fought not to let out a chorus of awws at the pissed boy's face and voice.

"What happened, All-" Ryan started to asked, still carrying a now awakening Jeniya, "-len…"

"Out!" Allen bellowed praying that the cute voice he now had wouldn't betray the emotion it held.

It didn't. Ryan fled from the room with Jeniya, leaving Lavi and Komui to their fate.

"Now," Allen sighed, trying to calm himself, "Please explain to me why it is I'm a mini me?"

"Komui's idea, not mine!" Lavi quickly pointed out.

"And why, dear Komui, would you want to risk your life with this idea?" Allen growled, preparing to activate his innocence.

"R-Revenge for destroying my K-Komurins!" Komui quickly lied, sprinting out of the room.

"Damn that crazed idiot," Allen sighed, "Now what am I going to do? I was supposed to be allowed to roam the halls today and I was really looking forward to that. But I can't go out looking like this…"

"Johnny will make you some nice clothes!" Lavi proclaimed, picking up the startled boy and sprinting off to the science department.

"Lavi!" Allen cried as they passed by the ark, not noticing the Chinese girl standing there, "Put me down!"

"W-Was that…Allen?" Lenalee blinked, "Nah. It couldn't be. Komui wouldn't be that suicidal...yet..."

* * *

"Allen, you're so adorable!" Johnny squealed for the nth time, quickly sewing a new outfit for Allen together.

"For the last time, Johnny, stop saying that!" Allen complained as he sat on top of a file cabinet in Reever's lab coat.

"But it's true!" Johnny beamed.

"Hate to admit it, Allen, but…" Reever said, watching Allen swing his tiny legs back and forth, "He's right. You do look rather cute."

"Not you too, Reever!" Allen whined, "Is no one sane anymore?"

"Haha, if they are, you wouldn't find them here in the Order," Reever chuckled, working on some mathematics at his desk.

"Hey, Reever," Allen said, jumping off of the file cabinet, "Do you have some paper and a pencil?"

"Eh?" Reever gaped.

"Yeah, I figure that I could work on something while I'm waiting for Johnny to finish," Allen smiled.

"S-Sure," Reever nodded, handing the materials over.

"Thanks!" Allen beamed, sending Reever off into a world of cuteness.

* * *

Two hours later…

"Okay Allen!" Johnny announced, "Here's your new outfit!"

"Finally," Allen sighed, getting up from the floor where he had taken refuge from the gawking scientists, "Where can I go change?"

"Um…unless you want to deal with the festival of tears going on outside, then the bathroom is down the hallway," Reever pointed, picking up one of the pages that Allen had earlier.

"Festival of tears?" Allen questioned, "Lenalee's home?"

"Bingo," Reever smiled, noticing one of Allen's horrid drawings.

"Why don't you change in Komui's office?" Johnny suggested, leading Allen through the doors.

Reever smiled at the young male before turning his attention back to the pages on the floor. While it was true that Allen was no artist, Reever couldn't help but think that his drawings were the greatest things in the world. The full picture took several pages to actually finish but once he put them in the right order, a few tears were brought to his face. For on those pages was everyone Allen was close to at the Order. Toma was at the very end, then came the Asain Branch members and Hevlaska, then surprisingly Link, and then all of the scientists. Reever chuckled when he noticed that Allen tried to draw him yelling at Komui who was asleep and dreaming of Lenalee.

Next came Jerry and his master. The fact that Cross still made it in was a little surprising too but not as surprising as Link. Then finally came the exorcists. It was extremely hard not to laugh at the situation. Miranda was crying while sitting on Marie's shoulder. Chaoji was just standing awkard between them and Krory, who was also crying. On the other side was Kanda and Lavi, both of whom were chasing Timcampy. Timcampy itself held Lavi's bandana and Kanda's hair tie while it flew over the rest of the generals. Reever shuddered at General Socalo…not the best drawing ever. Bookman was just sitting on the ground there, smoking.

Reever finally reached the middle of the drawing where Lenalee stood smiling sweetly at everyone on her side and laughing. Timothy stood on the other side, sitting on top of an akuma that he had taken control of. Then finally, in the middle was Allen with Jeniya on his right shoulder and his left hand placed on a smirking Ryan's shoulder. And on his face was a smile. A truly happy smile.

It really wasn't the picture itself that got to Reever. It was written under everyone. Each person had their name and their relation to Allen. But not Finder on this mission. Toma was a cousin. Then all of the scientists and guardians where cousins except for Komui who was crazy uncle. Cross was crazy drunken uncle with too many debts. Jerry was a close friend. The generals were uncles and an aunt. The rest of the exorcists were brothers and a sister, (except Chaoji who was just a friend) and Link was a brother as well. Kanda and Lavi even had big brother written under them. Timothy was known as LITTLE brother. The next three nearly made Reever lose it. Jeniya was daughter and Ryan was son.

Then Lenalee…Reever had to make sure Komui wasn't looking over his shoulder for it. Underneath Lenalee was my love. Reever nearly jumped out of his skin when he read that. The boy was bloody bold to writing that somewhere Komui could read it! Reever looked over the picture one last time before noticing what was written at the top.

"My family…" Reever read silently as Allen finally came out of the office.

"I must say, nice job Johnny," Allen complimented, wearing his normal attire only miniaturized, noticing Reever looking at the picture, "I think that whatever this drug is that shrunk me is messing with my mind. I just wanted to draw and it turned into that."

"Well, you've got one weird sense of family if this is what you see it as," Reever chuckled before looking sadly at Allen, "Why'd you do this, Allen? And don't say it's all Komui's drug's fault."

Allen just smiled sadly back at Reever, "Because I wanted to."

"Huh?" Reever gaped.

"Think of it as a present to the entire order," Allen stated, smile still present on his lips, "After all, you never know when you just might run out of time before you tell the ones you love how you feel for them."

"A-Allen," Johnny and Reever stuttered.

"Just kidding!" Allen laughed, running out into the hallway, "I really just wanted to draw something!"

"R-Reever," Johnny whispered, staring at the picture, "Do you think-"

"N-no," Reever shook his head, "I don't think he's figured out that he's slowly dieing. But Allen's an observant boy. He's probably noticing that his body is slowly down. Hopefully, he'll just chalk it up to being a parasitic wielder."

"What are we going to do with this?" Johnny asked, motioning to the picture, "We can't hang it up because of the part with Lenalee."

"We'll put it in my file drawer. Then we'll put it up after…" Reever paused, biting his lip, "After Allen's gone. It'll be something for everyone to remember him by then."

"Reever, I think Allen's further along than everyone thinks," Johnny muttered.

"Why do you say that? He's been acting per-" Reever started to say.

"He collapsed the second he saw his reflection. He curled up into a ball, and started complaining about the pain being everywhere at once," Johnny explained, "After all of that, he slowly stood up and examined his brown hair and muttered something about a candle."

Reever stood frozen as Johnny recounted all of this. Were they already losing Allen?

"Then the same thing nearly happened again when I finished his new clothes," Johnny stated, "but he managed to stay on his feet this time. The pain was still clear as day on his face though…"

"damn it…Komui's brilliant idea didn't work," Reever cursed, palming his face to try and fight his tears.

* * *

"d-damn it," Allen cursed, leaning against a wall and breathing hard, "Th-That was the third attack in the past week."

Trying to catch his breath, Allen covered his mouth with his hand as he went into a violent coughing fit. Looking at his hand once the coughing subsided, the cursed teen sighed. There was blood again.

"I-If this keeps up, someone will notice," Allen said, sliding down the wall and curling into a ball, "Th-Then I'll be stuck in the infirmary till…Gah! Stop thinking like this! We're going to fight it! Fight this fate!"

After pounding his head on the floor for a good minute, Allen slowly stood up on shaking legs. Using the wall to hold himself up, he tried to get his breathing back to normal.

"Still…this doesn't feel too promising," Allen admitted, placing his hand on his chest, "I can really feel how much time I've got now. I need to be extremely careful from here on in."

Running his hand through his thick auburn hair, Allen made his way to the cafeteria, chuckling at his somewhat disturbing thought, "Only five more candles left to blow out and about six months to live. That's almost poetic."

* * *

"You what!" Lenalee snapped at her brother, "What were you thinking, Nii-san!"

"I was thinking that if he was tiny, then he wouldn't use as much life force and could gain some of it back," Komui whimpered.

"But the serum only changes the person's body, Komui," Marie sighed from his seat at their table, "not age."

"Well duh!" Komui snapped, "But it's not like we have much choice. We've either got to find a way to slow this down or in six months time, Allen will no longer be here to get lost in the Order's halls."

"True," the other people at the table sighed.

"Still, shrinking him doesn't seem to practical," Lenalee stated, walking up to Jerry's window, "Have you seen Allen yet, Jerry?"

"Little kid with auburn hair and silver eyes, right?" Jerry smirked.

"Yep," Lenalee nodded.

"He's right there in the doorway on Kanda's back…Wait…On Kanda's back!" Jerry gasped, readjusting his sunglasses.

Lenalee whipped around and sure enough, there was Kanda carrying a sleeping little Allen on his back.

"Whoa, Yuu's carrying Allen!" Lavi whistled.

"Hush up, usagi," Kanda sighed, sifting Allen further up his back, "I found him passed out in front of my door. I presume the reason he's even more of a Moyashi is because of Mr. Sister Complex here."

"You guessed it, Yuu," Lavi smirked, gently taking Allen from the scowling samurai, "But why'd you carry him all the way here? Why not to his room? It's closer to yours anyways."

As if on cue, Allen's monstrous stomach started to loudly growl. Lavi nearly face planted.

"Still has a sick sense of timing," Lavi laughed.

"That's why I brought him here," Kanda stated, "His stomach was driving me crazy." "I bet," Lavi chuckled, carrying the smaller version of his little brother to Jerry's window, "Guess who, Jerry!"

"Awww, isn't he just adorable~!" Jerry cooed, "He looks so peaceful and innocent!"

Allen just groaned and tried to retreat further into Lavi's arms, earning a deep chuckle from the redhead.

"Here, I'll take him Lavi," Lenalee offered, "You get his food."

"Right," Lavi stated, giving up the small boy.

Carrying him over to the table, Lenalee slowly sat down as she held him close. Listening to his gentle breathing, the female exorcist was having a hard time believing that he would be gone within six months. That in probably two months time, he would be confined to the infirmary or to bed. In four months time, he'd be completely bedridden as more Crows guarded him incase the Noah within him tried to take over his body. And after five months, he'd be basically in another coma until he finally passed on. With tears filling up her eyes, Lenalee held the boy that she loved close to her as she wept. It just wasn't fair.

Miranda slowly slipped into the seat next to her, wrapping her arms around the weeping girl. She too wanted to cry. That was who she was after all. Crybaby, scared of everything Miranda. But Lenalee needed someone who was strong beside her.

The German knew how Allen felt for Lenalee. She had always known. In fact it amazed her to no end that no one else noticed the British male's feelings for the Chinese girl. Wasn't she the one that was supposed to be oblivious of everything? If that was the case, then why was it that no one ever noticed the longing looks Allen shot at Lenalee when she wasn't looking? The way he always pushed himself even further than he needed to make her happy? How when he was smiling at her, it didn't seem so fake?

Shaking her head a bit, Miranda also knew that Allen didn't want Lenalee to be in any pain. That was probably the one thing that would upset him the most. To know that he had hurt the person he loved the most. A smile of sadness and ironically understanding, Miranda pulled Lenalee even closer to her. Even if he didn't write it in that blasted wish log, that was probably Allen's greatest wish. For no one to cry over him and to make sure that everyone stayed as happy as they could be. With that knowledge alone, she found the strength to step away from herself and help the rest with their pain.

Everyone stayed silent for a while. There was still nothing to say. What could they say anyways? Even after so many days had passed from that fateful day, no one could believe it. Deep down, maybe they never had believed that Allen would die even if he had a Hero complex that caused him to be a little suicidal from time to time. How could they? After all, he was supposed to be God's favorite. The one that was chosen to defeat the Earl, right? But that didn't matter in reality. After all, no matter what anyone thought, Allen was just another exorcist. And they all knew that all exorcists were completely human.

"So…" Lavi finally sounded, fishing for a random topic to cheer up the depressed aura in the room, "Yuu thinks of Allen as a little brother too!"

"EH!" everyone gasped.

"Baka Usagi!" Kanda snapped, Mugen pressing against Lavi's throat within a second.

"What?" Lavi shrugged, sticking his tongue out at the swordsman, "I said I'd never tell Moyashi-chan. I never said anything about everyone else."

* * *

_**Mizu: Maybe I'll actually finish this one before New Years! If I do, then I'm going to kick off the new year with a new anime. I've been really good too! I finally found out that if I watch any anime or read any manga that isn't the same as the stories that I'm working on, I can't concentrate. So I've laid off of most anime and manga, which is really hard to do when your best friends keep telling you how great an anime is and trying to force you to read their new manga. It's…fun.**_

_**Allen: You just now found that out?**_

_**Mizu: Hush! Do not mock me.**_

_**Allen: I think you're a bit to hyper or sleep deprived right now. Why else would you right such a long thing for yourself? You never do that…anymore…**_

_**Mizu: I said hush or do you not want to change back into your normal size? I can finish this story easily if Tyki finds you tinified. Anyway, as I always say, reviews are extremely welcome and the same goes for suggestions. Ciao for now…**_

_**Oh! One more thing guys! I thought I'd let you guys into a little fact about the story. It's really pretty small when I think about it but I find it fascinating. As of today, this story is 71 pages long in my word document. Maybe, just maybe, this story can be my first one to break passed 100 pages. What do you guys think?**_


	16. Chp 15: Don't Call Me Baby!

_**Mizu: Got this one done~! Woot, I'm on a roll! I've gotten so many ideas that I've been able to type up. By the way, this story is going to start coming to an end. The candles are running out for our beloved exorcist…Disclaimer time! I don't own -Man. If I did, Leverrier would be dead! I would have Tyki killed him by putting a hole in his nonexistent heart!**_

_**Chapter 15- Don't Call me Baby!**_"Why is Walker tiny?" Link asked as he walked in with Jeniya and Ryan.

* * *

Everyone just pointed at Komui in response. The Crow sighed and sat across from Lenalee, who was still holding onto a sleeping Allen. Jeniya and Ryan plopped down on each side of the Chinese woman. Ryan sighed as he placed his head on the table.

"This place is so weird…" Ryan groaned, "but it's home…"

Jeniya tried to cover her mouth with her hands when Allen slowly started to stir from his slumber. It was everything she could do to keep from going into a fit of laughter.

"P-Papa looks so funny like that," Jeniya giggled.

"Papa?" everyone but Lavi, Komui, and Ryan exclaimed.

"Yep! Mr. Walker is our papa now!" Jeniya beamed, "Even if he's tiny."

That was it for Miranda and Krory. The two of them broke down into hysterics while Marie and Lavi tried to sooth them. Lenalee chuckled at the scene, turning her attention to Allen as he finally sat up and pulled away from her.

"What's going on?" Allen asked, rubbing his eye as he yawned.

"Miranda and Krory are proclaiming their joy for your becoming a Papa," Lenalee smirked.

"Ah," Allen nodded, smoothing out his messy hair, "I forgot how much of a pain this thick mass of hair was."

"It looks good on you," Lenalee chuckled.

"Th-Thanks," Allen blushed a bit.

"Papa~!" Jeniya beamed, pulling her tiny dad in for a spine crushing hug, "Guess what!"

"Can't…breath," Allen gasped, trying to free himself.

"Link told us that tomorrow we're going to the circus with you!" Jeniya exclaimed, loosening her grip a bit.

"L-Link did?" Allen stuttered as he turned to face the Crow.

"What? I'm not allowed to try help with those blasted wishes of yours?" Link nearly smirked, "We're also going to find your real parents after we go to the circus."

"Really!" Allen beamed, standing up on his chair, finally free from Jeniya's arms.

'Why's he so excited to meet his actual parents, anyways?' Lavi thought as he watched the smaller version of Allen prance around, 'Something's not right here…'

"So, who are you gonna take with ya?" Lenalee giggled.

"Hm…Defiantly Jeniya and Ryan," Allen thought aloud, "Do you want to go Lenalee?"

"Of course I'll go with you!" Lenalee beamed, giddy beyond belief on the inside.

"Hm…Lavi? Would you like to go too? I'm sure-" Allen started to chuckled.

"There's no way that I'm missing this!" Lavi exclaimed, picking up Allen and spinning him around cutely, "I can't wait to see their faces when they see you like "this"."

"I know! It's gonna be so great!" Allen laughed, shocking Lavi.

'Wha? Doesn't he know this is going to freak them out? Unless,' Lavi thought as he gently put a beaming Allen down back on the ground, 'That's what he wants? Revenge for abandoning him?'

"I wonder if Kanda wants to go? It be fun to try and mess with him on the way but knowing him, he'll just try to chop my head off," Allen laughed walking over to the swordsman, "But what do ya say, Kanda? Want to come with?"

"No way in hell, Moyashi. I'm not going out there just to watch you "bond" with some idiotic people or better yet kill yourself," Kanda said, faking a sigh.

"Whatever you say, BaKanda," Allen fake scowled, "I can still take your ass down even as a chibi!"

"Is that a challenge, Moyashi?" Kanda smirked down at the tiny kid.

"Why not? But I get to decide what we do and the stakes," Allen smirked back.

Black Allen has returned…

* * *

"I swear if I get my hands on you, you little brat!" Kanda bellowed as he chased a chibivied version of Allen down an old dirt road in Northern England.

"Stop being such a sore loser, BaKanda!" Allen laughed loudly, huffing for breath.

"You fucking cheated!" Kanda shouted, unsheathing Mugen.

"How can I cheat in a performance? You're the one that agreed that whoever put on the better show for our friends would win!" Allen laughed evilly.

"Yeah, and you're the one that was a clown before that drunken bastard took you in!" Kanda shouted, ignoring the strange looks from the rest of the group.

"You knew that and you still agreed!" Allen shouted back.

"Come on you two," Lenalee sighed while she watched Kanda proceed with trying to castrate a jumping Allen, "We're supposed to be looking for Allen's parents place."

"You know how they get, Lenalee," Lavi smirked as Allen landed a kick to Kanda's head, "That's how they show their brotherly love."

"Shut up, baka usagi!" both shouted, throwing large rocks at the redhead.

"This is fun though," Jeniya laughed while Lavi was buried.

"True," Lenalee nodded, "So where's the village, Link?"

"About another mile up the road. Then we need to find the church in the center of the village," Link said, "Walker's parents live in the house across from it."

"Across of the church," Allen repeated, running down the road.

"Hey, wait up Allen!" Lenalee laughed.

"Come on, Jeniya. We've got to keep an eye on our papa," Ryan smiled as he took his sister's hand.

"Right!" Jeniya beamed.

"Get back here Moyashi!" Kanda shouted after Allen as both he and Link followed after the group.

"Aren't you guys forgetting about someone?" Lavi groaned as he tried to free himself from his rock prison.

* * *

"This should be it," Link stated.

"…you sure?" Lenalee asked, skeptically.

"Are you doubting me, Miss Lenalee?" Link questioned.

"It's not that. But," Lenalee sweat dropped, "When you said that his parents' house was across the street of the church, I didn't quite think it took up the whole street across of the church."

Allen just nodded, staring in awe at the amazingly large house in front of him. While the young parasitic exorcist stood in amazement, Lavi finally managed to trot up to them.

"Geez you guys!" Lavi huffed, "You could have at least waited for me at the outskirts."

"Shut up, usagi," Kanda stated, staring at the building.

"What?" Lavi blinked, looking at the building, "Didn't Johnny tell you guys?"

"Tell us what?" Allen asked.

"You're father is the mayor and richest man in of this town," Lavi explained.

"…oh," Allen said without emotion.

"Hey, you there!" a voice called from above them.

"Yes?" Lenalee asked, looking up to see an old woman leaning out a window.

"What are you folks doing here? Don't you know that the Sir and Misses aren't in right now?" the old woman asked.

"What?" Allen gasped, looking up at the woman with pleading eyes, "They aren't here?"

"Hm?" the woman squinted to look at Allen, "No way…One second!"

With that, the old woman disappeared back into the building. The group looked at each other and shrugged. Allen sighed and looked down at the ground with a sorrow filled expression. Lenalee felt a bit of her heart break as Allen slowly started to turn away from the building.

"Oh well," Allen sighed, wiping his eyes, "It was a nice try."

"Stop right there!" a deep male voice boomed from the door behind them, "Young man! Please come here!"

Allen slowly turned back around and walked up to the man. He was at least six feet tall, had dark auburn hair that came down to the base of his neck, and very dark and deep blue eyes. His age was probably somewhere around late twenties. The dying exorcist looked up at the man with curious eyes. He could almost feel as if they had met before but where? That he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"A-Allen?" the man whispered, eyes locked with Allen's silver ones.

"Yes," Allen said, tilting his head to the side in confusion, "But how do you know my name?"

"I-It is Allen!" the man gasped, falling to his knees suddenly.

"Sir!" Allen gasped as well, fearing the poor man had hurt himself.

The man suddenly wrapped his arms around the tiny exorcist and hugged him tightly. Too shocked to do anything, Allen froze in the man's arms. Meanwhile, his entire group had mimicked him and where frozen in place as well. The man slowly started to rub Allen's back while tears dampened his back. Confusion hit the young exorcist full force.

"Dear little brother, you've returned to us," the man murmured.

"Wait…what?" Allen blinked.

"Yes," the man smiled, gently pulling far enough back to look straight into Allen's eyes, "I'm your older brother, Skylar."

"N-No way…" Allen and Lenalee gaped.

"Johnny never told us about siblings," Lavi pointed out as Link walked up to Allen and his new brother.

"Excuse me but could you please release him," Link asked, tugging on the man's arm a bit, "We wish to speak with your family inside."

"Huh? Oh right! This way~!" Skylar beamed, picking Allen up and carrying him into the house.

"Release me! Put me down this instant!" Allen ordered, "I refused to be carried like some moronic child!"

"Hey, Yuu?" Lavi asked as he poked Kanda in the arm.

"What is it?" Kanda sighed.

"It didn't take that long for the effects of that drug to wear off, right?" Lavi questioned.

"Now that you mention it," Kanda nodded, "it really only took about twelve hours for it to wear off."

"And Allen's been like that…" Lavi started to say, "Crap…"

* * *

"Are you alright, Allen?" Skylar asked as he knocked on the bathroom door.

"I-I'm fine!" Allen snapped from the other side.

"Remind me to kill Komui when we get back," Lavi sighed, "He and his drugs have such _**perfect**_ timing…."

"I'll let you go at him but you'll have to get to him before he gets to Moyashi," Kanda sighed, walking out of the bathroom.

"I feel bad for Lenalee," Ryan chuckled.

"Poor Papa," Jeniya giggled.

"I'm still a little confused as to what's happening?" Skylar admitted, looking towards the rest of the group for answers, "Wasn't he just a little child?"

"Um...sir, didn't you find it odd how your brother was a child when he disappeared all those years ago and now that he's back, he's still a child?" Lavi asked nervously.

"Well yes but I didn't want to question in. After all, what does it matter?" Skylar chuckled.

"I think these should fit you, Allen," Lenalee said as she appeared with a maid and some clothes.

"Thank you!" Allen called from the other side of the door, "I'm so sorry for putting you through this."

"Don't blame yourself, Allen," Lenalee laughed, handing him the clothes when he cracked open the door, "It's not your fault that this happened after all."

"Yeah, it's Komui's," Ryan laughed loudly.

"He's going to kill him, you do know that, right?" Lavi told Lenalee.

"I know. He deserves it, too," Lenalee smiled.

"Um...May I ask who is Komui?" Skylar asked.

"One of our bosses," Lavi answered quickly, "And Lenalee's overly protective big brother."

"He's a crazy scientist," Kanda sighed, "He's the reason that Moyashi looked like a child."

"My name's Allen, BaKanda!" Allen shouted from behind the door.

"Moy-ashi?" Skylar questioned.

"That's Yuu's name for Allen. He's basically calling him a beansprout," Lavi smirked.

"Oh...huh?" Skylar sounded, still confused.

"Komui Lee is a scientist who is rather good at his job of creating drugs and machines for helping our people," Link explained, leaning against a random wall taking notes, "But he also is rather good at messing with people and tends to create more problems than he fixes."

"So..."

"So he's the reason that I shrunk into my child-like form," Allen growled, opening the door.

"Good, they fit you well," the maid clapped.

Allen's eye twitched, "I feel stupid in this outfit."

He looked it as well. He was stuffed into black pants that were barely long enough for him to wear comfortably. The shoes he now had to wear were far too dressy for his taste. His shirt was still in the style that he preferred. It was still had long sleeves and a stiff collar. It was just the color that was disgusting him. It was a bright, vivid red. Include to that a dark pink vest and a black ribbon, and Allen wasn't feeling too great in his apparel.

"...Looks...good, buddy," Lavi struggled to say without cracking up in laughter.

"Lavi," Allen sighed, before glaring at the red head, "Shut up."

"A-Allen...your hair," Skylar gaped.

"Is pure white, I know," Allen sighed, running his left hand, that now was covered with his worn out glove, through the said hair, "It turned this way when I was twelve. Let's just say that something extremely traumatic happened to me then and leave it at that."

Skylar looked sadly at his brother before smiling gently, "Alright. Why don't we go into the den and await for mother and father to return from their trip."

"When will they be back?" Lenalee asked.

"You're lucky. They've been gone for the past month for an important trip but they're supposed to return today," Skylar smiled, "Along with our sisters."

"Sisters?" Allen questioned, following his new brother to the den.

"Yep. Twin younger sisters," Skylar beamed.

"Twins!" everyone gasped.

"Yep. They were born a year after..." Skylar drifted off, "...after we lost you..." The group was silent for a while. It didn't take long to reach the den. The room had a large fireplace with a couch and several other chairs around it. On the mantle piece were worn out pictures of the family that resided in the house they were in. Allen walked up to one and felt his heart plummet. For there staring back at him was a little boy of about three with what he thought to be auburn hair (can't really tell cause it the pictures are all black and white), sitting on the shoulders of another boy, this one about eight, also with auburn hair. Both were laughing and smiling. Behind them was a man and a woman. They both were smiling warmly at the two boys and the woman had one hand on the younger boy's head.

Gently picking it up, Allen ran the thumb of his left hand over the picture. He could feel a few tears in his eyes. Bringing his other hand up to wipe his eyes, he saw Skylar warming smiling at him out of the corner of his eye. Quickly, the white-haired male placed the picture back onto the mantle and sat down on the couch where Jeniya and Ryan sat. His eyes sunk down to the ground. He wanted to say something to his brother but didn't know what.

'That's such a strange word,' Allen thought, 'I've only known this guy for like two hours and I'm already calling him brother...What if we aren't, though? What if he's just some crazy guy that thinks I'm his brother? Better yet, what if he's an akuma or even a Noah-'

Allen shook his head violently, 'No way. Even if he was an akuma and the Earl was using those damn bug seal things, he wouldn't be so stupid to go up against all of us exorcists. But what if we aren't related...That would honestly suck...'

"You're probably worried about whether or not we're related, right?" Skylar asked as he sat in one of the chairs.

Allen stiffened instantly.

"I understand. I can honestly understand what you are feeling. After all, you've gone most of your life without knowing who your family was," Skylar sighed, "But I can honestly say for a fact that you are my baby brother."

'Baby!' Allen shouted in his mind, his black half itching to come out.

"How can you be so sure?" Allen asked, voice soft.

"Well, for one thing, your eyes," Skylar pointed out, "I only know three people who have silver eyes. My mother. One of my younger sisters. And my baby brother."

'Knock it off with the baby!' Black Allen shouted from inside his mind.

"But that's not enough to confidently say that we're brothers," Allen sighed.

"You have our birthmark," Skylar stated.

"Wha?" everyone blinked.

"When you suddenly changed into this form, I saw the family's birthmark," Skylar smirked.

Allen's face flushed to red while everyone was left trying to pry out what and where the birth mark was.

"Skylar? Are you home?" a deep male voice sounded from the entry way.

"In the den father!" Skylar smirked, "I've got a surprise for you guys."

While Skylar was announcing his surprise, Allen, Lavi, and Lenalee were trying to signal him to shut up.

"Big brother!" two of about twelve years old shouted as they ran into the den.

Allen ducked behind Lenalee and Kanda, hoping to actually hide. From behind the now flustered samurai and giggling Chinese, Allen could see that both girls had long brunette hair. One had light blue eyes while the other had deep silver ones. Both wore wide and happy smiles on their faces as they tackled Skylar out of his seat. The fading exorcist couldn't help but smile.

"Oh, hello there," a man with dark brown hair and hazel eyes said as he walked into the den.

"Father!" Skylar laughed as the twins clung to him as he stood, "I've got something amazing for you.

"I can see that," the man almost growled, staring at Lavi's exorcist jacket, "We have people from the Black Order in our home."

"What!" the older exorcists, including Allen from behind two of them, shouted, "You know of the Black Order!"

"Of course I know. Those morons have been in this area searching for their precious innocence for the best of twenty years now," the man sneered, sitting down across from Lenalee and Kanda (and Allen), "So what do you bastards want this time?"

"Eh…" the group gaped.

"Father, you shouldn't be so cold to them," Skylar whispered, "They've brought someone with-"

"I don't give a crap who they brought unless it's my son!" the man shouted, causing all the exorcists to flinch.

"um…" Skylar said, rubbing his neck, "Hey, Allen why don't you come out now?"

"No way!" Allen shook his furiously.

'This isn't good! This isn't how it was supposed to be…' Allen screamed at himself, 'They were supposed to be cruel and heartless people that abandoned me! They weren't supposed to be a family still searching for me! I can't do this."

Allen suddenly crawled out from behind Kanda and Lenalee and stood up. His eyes were close and his body was trembling.

"We are terribly sorry for intruding upon you today, sir," Allen apologized, bowing in front of him, "We will be on our way."

"Good riddance," the man spat.

"Wait, Al-" Skylar started to say.

"It's alright," Allen said as he led the group to the door against their wills, "I've finally learned all that I needed to know…Thank you."

"Honey, what's going on in there?" a woman with a slight French accent asked from just beyond the doorway.

"Just some more of those bastards thought they could bug us," the man answered.

"Did you ask?" a woman with long blonde hair and silver eyes asked, walking into the room and nearly running into Allen.

"Ah, sorry!" Allen apologized quickly, shutting his eyes quickly.

"…Monsieur, please open your eyes," the woman said, hands cupping his cheeks.

"I-It would-" Allen struggled to find an excuse.

"Will you do what she asks, Moyashi!" Kanda snapped at the white-haired teen.

That got him. His eyes snapped open as he turned to yell at Kanda.

"My name is Allen, BaKanda, or are you too stupid to remember anything but where to go get your Soba!" Allen shouted at the samurai.

"…I knew," the woman smiled, "These eyes."

"Crap…" Allen cursed, hanging his head down after glaring at a smirking Kanda.

"What is it, my love?" the man asked.

"It is him," the woman beamed, tears appearing in her eyes, "It is my baby boy."

'Stop with the baby!' Black Allen cried from inside of Allen's mind

* * *

_**Mizu: I've got to keep this part short. I enjoy all reviews and suggestions!**_

_**Allen: …that's it?**_

_**Mizu: yep! Ciao for now!**_


	17. Chp 16: An Innocent Heart

_**Mizu: Yay! Another chapter! Unfortunately for you guys, I depressed myself right before writing this on accident. Let's just say that I won't be freewriting about myself for a LONG time. Anyways, I noticed something the other day while rereading this story. I never described Jeniya and Ryan beyond what their ages were. So here they are.**_

_**Ryan: A serious ten-year old boy. He's very protective of his sister and, up until Allen finds him, has kept his sense of humor to a minimum. He has thick, dark brown hair that reaches about to his chin for which Allen jokes him that he needs a hair cut. Of course, after nearly cutting his "Papa"s skull when he tried to give him a hair cut to shut him up while they were setting up gates was quick to change Allen's tune. He also has dark hazel eyes with a main color of a dark green. He comes to the middle of Allen's upper arm as of late.**_

_**Jeniya: A free spirited seven-year old girl. She has very light blonde hair that almost seems to have been bleached that goes down to the middle of her back. Whenever Lenalee was with the group while Allen was forced to set up gates, she would help Jeniya learn to style her hair. Whenever Lenalee wasn't there, Allen tried to do his best but normally failed and they ended up keeping it up in a high ponytail. She has bright and lively green eyes that almost seem to glow whenever she activates her innocence. Her face is covered with light freckles as well. Jeniya comes to her brother's shoulder in height. **_

_**Okay. Long intro but oh well. Disclaimer: I don't own -Man. If I did, the Earl and all of his akuma could use Leverrier as target practice. On with the story!**_

* * *

_**Chapter 16- An Innocent Heart…**_

.

* * *

"Please let my arm go, Miss," Allen whimpered as the dragged him back to the chairs, "We really should be going."

"Nonsense!" The woman beamed, a few tears in her eyes, "We have so much to talk about!"

"W-We do?" Allen stuttered, looking back at his friends for help.

"I don't see any problem with staying a little later," Lenalee giggled, smiling happily for Allen.

"Besides, wasn't coming here your wish, Moyashi-chan?" Lavi chuckled.

"Moy-ashi?" the man and woman asked the redhead.

"Chan?" Skylar questioned as the twins sitting in front of him tilted their heads curiously at Allen.

"Chan is like saying little or something like that," Lenalee explained as Lavi cowered behind her.

Why was he cowering? Well, Allen was glaring darkly at the redhead and wishing him the most painful death he could through his eyes. Of course, Lavi was used to these things. After all, he was the one that provoked Yuu the most. No, what scared him was the fact that Allen had honestly changed into his black half. Innocent, serious but funny Allen Lavi could deal with. Dark and meticulous accurate Allen, not so much…

"And Moyashi means bean sprout," Kanda smirked, standing a ways away against a wall.

"So it's like a double insult," Skylar stated, earning a nod from Allen.

"All because I'm a few damn inches shorter than everyone else," Allen growled.

"Don't worry," the woman giggled from her seat next Allen as she gently squeezed his right arm, "Arthur didn't finish growing until he was at least twenty. Same with Skylar. The men here just don't grow fast."

"Liliane!" the man flushed, "There is no need to tell stranger-"

"He is not a stranger, Arthur!" Liliane snapped at the man, herself almost mirroring Allen's black half, "He is my baby boy that we lost all those years ago."

"Wh-Why do you keep saying that?" Allen whimpered.

"Because you are," Liliane smiled gently, rubbing his arm slowly, "I just know that you are my son."

"He has the birthmark, mother," Skylar remarked.

"I am quite curious as to where this birthmark is located," Lavi chuckled, coming out from his hiding spot behind Lenalee.

"Shut your mouth, Lavi!" Allen snapped.

"You see! That's all the prove I need!" Liliane exclaimed, drawing Allen close to her for a bone crushing hug, "My baby has come home!"

"Don't call me that!" Allen whined.

"Hey, Poppy?" one of the twins asked the other, "Do you see what I see?" "I do, Primmie," the other smiled, "I see it too."

"Poppy? Primrose?" Skylar questioned, "What do you see?"

"His arm. It shines green," Poppy stated.

"and so does a spot on his chest, though faintly," Primrose added.

"Huh?" Allen blinked.

"Can you roll up your sleeve, mister?" the twins asked.

"I-I rather not," Allen chuckled nervously.

"Liliane, you know as well as I do that those finders told us that one of their own killed our son," Arthur sighed.

"Eh!" the exorcists gasped.

"That's not true! I know that this is my Allen!" Liliane snapped at her husband.

"Wh-Whoa! Go back a second!" Lavi shouted, "A finder killed your son!"

"Yes. After he was born, those damn men started to show up and take him away from us but we wouldn't let them," Arthur growled, "That is until one day a woman finder came and stole him from us."

Allen turned to look at his "brother" just smiled sadly at him and continued on, "Father and I confronted several other finders and they told us that they would search for her. A couple of days later, they came up with the bloodied clothes of my brother."

Allen felt the blood drain from his face. So this wasn't his family! What was going on?

"But mother and I never believed that you were dead, Allen," Skylar stated, "I just knew that you were alive somewhere."

"The finder who took was different than all the rest," Liliane explained before glaring at her husband, "But no matter how many times I tell him that, Arthur refuses to believe me."

"Because it doesn't matter! If they were a damn jacket, they are all the same," Arthur snapped, realizing something, "But you aren't wearing one. Neither is Two-Dots over there."

'Ha! Take that Link!' Allen thought in his head, 'Lavi and I aren't the only two that come up with such great names for you!'

"Well, it's a very long story…" Allen grumbled, "Let's just say that I'm the same as the others here and that I hate someone's brother right now.

"I'm more interested in what you mean by a finder took your son," Allen stated, getting into his work self.

"She said that you had a rare and powerful type of innocence and needed to me taken to the Order immediately," Liliane said, squeezing his left hand tightly, "She said that the night before she took you away from us."

"Hm…What do you guys think?" Allen looked back at his comrades.

"There have never been a lot of female finders," Lenalee stated, "Most women prefer to work in the hospital or in the science division, but rarely with finders."

"And up until ten years ago there were only a few woman in the entire order that were finders," Lavi added, "I'm sure we could track down which one it was. Kanda, may I borrow your golem?"

"What for, baka usagi?" Kanda sneered.

"Cause Timcampy can't connect to the order and you're the only that had the presence of mind to take yours," Lavi chuckled, grabbing the black creature in mid flight, "Where is your phone, ma'am?"

"Down the hall in front of the entryway," Liliane smiled gently.

"Liliane, even if our Allen was still alive, he had a dark auburn hair," Arthur sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "This man has a hair color I've never seen in someone so young."

"Well…I used to have auburn hair," Allen stated, a very light blush covering his face, "In fact my hair was auburn until I was twelve…"

"See!" Liliane squealed, hugging Allen tightly, "That proves he's my baby boy."

"please stop calling me that…" Allen whimpered as he felt some ribs try to break.

"Mister, can we please see you arm?" the twins asked again, this time trying at actually pull his sleeve up.

"Hey! Please don't-" Allen started to say when Jeniya stepped in front of him.

"Stop bugging my papa!" Jeniya snapped at the two girls, "He already told you that he didn't wanna. Don't make him do what he doesn't want to do!"

"Jeniya, it's alright," Allen sighed as a gentle smile graced his lips.

"Papa?" Skylar and Liliane questioned.

"Yeah," Allen nodded, lifting Jeniya up onto his lap, "I basically adopted her and her older brother after I brought them to the Order."

"You took them from their families?" Arthur snapped, "This is what I mean by you guys are all the same-"

"Shut up!" Ryan snapped, "Don't ever say that our papa is a bad person! We were orphaned after our parents were killed! He came and found us one day on his mission. Even though he was there to find innocence, he still treated us kindly and never made us feel threatened or anything. We chose to believe him! We chose to follow him to the Order!

"Then he risked his life to save us!" Ryan continued, fighting the tears that were developing in his eyes, "He risked his life to keep us safe! He didn't have to do that! There were other things that he could have done but he sure as hell didn't have to protect us that day!"

Ryan glared darkly at the man who was supposed to be Allen's father, "Papa nearly died then! He shouldn't even be alive right now to sit here! He kept fighting passed his limits just so that Jeniya and I could live to see one more day! He kept fighting for us! Never once did he ever stop fighting for us!

"When we were on a mission with him, he came to our rescue every time! When I got separated from him, he worried and searched everywhere for me! When ever Jeniya cried because of something, he was there to comfort her! For the first time since our parents died, someone gave a fucking damn about us! He never had to though! His only job was to give us to the Order, but he never did! We were supposed to go to a general for our training but we didn't! We stayed by his side though all of this time!

By now, everyone was silent as tears rolled down Ryan's cheeks without his knowledge, "So don't you ever, _**ever**_ say that our papa…that my father is a bad guy! Cause that just isn't true!" Everyone remained silent for a second while Ryan stood his ground, glaring at the shocked man. Suddenly, a warm hand ruffled his hair as he was pulled up onto his father's lap. His sister had moved off to the side. She herself had a few tears in her eyes as she smiled at her brother. The boy tilted his head back to look up at his father's eyes and felt his heart swell for a second. Allen was smiling one of his true smiles as a stray tears lingered in the corner of his eye. He pulled the boy into a tight hug, resting his chin in the boy's dark brown locks. "Thank you Ryan," Allen whispered.

The uneasy atmosphere that had been filling the room until Ryan's outburst was suddenly lifted. The group from the Black Order smiled (even Kanda) at the scene before them. They all knew what this meant to the two kids. Both of them knew that their papa wasn't going to live much longer and couldn't stand the thought of anyone bad mouthing him. They wouldn't stand for it. Lenalee wiped a tear from her eyes. She was going to take a lesson from the two kids. She wasn't going to stand for it any longer either.

"You are Allen," Arthur gaped after a long time.

"Huh?" Allen blinked as every turned their attention back to the man.

"Allen was the only one of my children that could look so much like Liliane when he was happy," Arthur stated, a few tears in his eyes, "Allen's emotions shone through his eyes at all times of the day."

"Arthur," Liliane beamed.

"You're right, Liliane," Arthur gently smiled, "He is our son."

'At least there wasn't a baby with that one,' Allen sighed inside his mind as he smiled warmly to his "family".

"So…" the twins started, looking at each other, "Can we see your arm!"

"Eh?" Allen gaped, looking into their pleading eyes, "Oh…fine."

"Yay!" the girls squealed as Allen rolled up his sleeve.

"Happy?" Allen sighed, holding out his hand.

"See? It is glowing green," Poppy said, poking his hand over where a cross-shaped, green gem used to be before the incidence with Tyki Mikk.

"But remember the pictures?" Primrose stated, "The green used to always only be in his left hand, not the whole arm nor in his chest."

"What are you two talking about?" Lenalee asked.

"Th-They can see it…" Allen whimpered, eyes wide as he stared at his sister, "They can see my innocence, Lenalee."

"Wh-What!" everyone from the Order gaped.

"N-No…This can't be right," Allen stuttered.

"Why does your heart glow green, big brother?" Primrose asked.

"M-My heart?" Allen gulped, looking at Jeniya and Ryan.

He looked at the two uncertainly. He had never told them this much of his past. He never once thought to tell them that he had a fragment of innocence in his heart.

"Ah…Poppy, do you see what I see?" Primrose asked as her silver eyes widened.

"I-I do…" Poppy nodded, blue eyes widening as well.

"Wh-Why do you have a hole in your heart, big brother?" the twins asked, voices trembling.

"What!" Jeniya and Ryan gasped, instantly staring at their papa with wide and terrified eyes.

Allen sighed and placed his left hand over his heart, "A while ago, I had a run in with someone from the Noah clan. The Noah clan are some of the most powerful enemies that we exorcists face. The one that I faced that day was the Noah of Pleasure, Tyki Mikk."

Allen closed his eyes, not to focus on the story but to block out the looks of horror that he was receiving, "Tyki has the power to chose what he touches. He and I can face to face after a very long and grueling I had gone through to save another exorcist who had "Fallen." I couldn't activate my innocence anymore. I was too weak and my arm was too damaged to do anything."

Allen paused, trying to articulate something without his voice breaking, "I-I managed to save the exorcist but Tyki…Tyki killed him in front of my eyes. Then…Then he attacked me and tried to destroy my innocence…"

"Destroy your Innocence?" Skylar repeated.

"The Noah Clan have the power to destroy innocence with the simplest of touches," Allen said, rubbing his face with his right hand.

'And I carry one of those bastards inside me,' Allen added inside his mind.

"Then how-" Arthur started to ask.

"After he "destroyed" my innocence, Tyki put a hole in my heart and left me to die a long and slow death…" Allen said, looking up at the ceiling, "I can remember looking up at the moon and just thinking that it looked so big…It looked so close that night…

"It was then that Fou found me just outside of the Asian Branch," Allen smiled gently up at the ceiling, "She carried me to the Asian Branch for medical treatment. But before she even got there, my innocence started to reform itself inside my body."

Allen tapped his chest with his left hand, directly over his heart, "Possibly right after Tyki Mikk left me for dead, my innocence reformed into two parts. The first part, the gem, now lies in my heart, sealing the hole that that bastard left in it. The second part forms my entire arm but that didn't form until about a week later when my innocence and I came to an agreement of sorts. Ever since then, my innocence and I have over come many obstacles. We've broken through the critical point, surpassing a hundred percent synchronization rate. Since that day, my innocence's strength has increased at least ten fold.

"It is what keeps me alive to continue to fight in this war," Allen sighed, looking back at his parents, "It is what allowed me to fight so hard to protect these two and everyone else that I love. It is the reason that I am willing to do whatever it takes to shorten this war, if by just a minute or even a second."

'It is also what is killing me now,' Allen thought sadly, positive that everyone could see the said emotion through his eyes, 'I don't have much longer anymore. I can no longer truly live for myself. I have to live for everyone else. I have to.'

"but wait," Allen blinked as something hit him, "Why could you two see my innocence? It only shines green when I activate it."

"We've always been able to," Primrose stated, pointing to Kanda, "We can see the glow that innocence gives off at all times. We see that yours in strapped to your waist as a sword."

"Hers is around her legs as those bracelets and those cross marks," Poppy added, pointing to Lenalee then Jeniya, "This one's is the necklace that she wears around her neck."

"This boy's is in the glove that holds his innocence," Primrose stated, pointing to Ryan, "It's like a crossbow when activated, right?"

"And then mister redhead here is the hammer that he has on his thigh," Poppy finished as Lavi walked back in.

"N-No way," Allen trembled, "Th-That's just not possible…"

"We've feared for the longest time that they were accommodators but they can't see any innocence within themselves," Liliane stated.

"And we never told the finders about in fear that they would steal them from us as well," Arthur added.

"I see…" Link nodded, jotting down some notes.

"I-I can't believe this…" Allen gaped.

"I've got some weird news," Lavi announced, "Apparently the only woman finder that was in this area for the past twenty years was a woman called Catherine Lance. But she died about thirteen years ago on October twenty-ninth-"

"That's not possible!" Arthur boomed, "Thirteen years ago, she took Allen from us on November first!"

"S-So it wasn't Catherine," Lenalee stuttered.

"It was either the work of a mimicking akuma or-" Lavi thought aloud.

"Or Lulubell," Allen growled, clenching his left hand in a fist.

"But I thought that the Noah didn't start showing up until after our incident with Road," Lenalee stated, placing a hand on Allen's shoulder.

"That's when they became insanely active but we can't be sure if they didn't do small jobs for the Earl before that," Lavi stated, "But why didn't she just kill you then?"

"Maybe that wasn't her job," Allen pondered, "Maybe she was supposed to take me to the Earl so that he could do it himself."

"Yeah, but if that was the case, Lulubell wouldn't have let you go for fear of being punished by her beloved master," Lavi contradicted, "I think our better bet would be that an akuma was ordered to kidnap you and then take you to the Earl. We've all seen how clumsy akuma can be. He probably lost you and then was destroy by the Earl for failing."

"But why would the Earl waste time to go after some brat?" Kanda questioned.

"Watch it," Allen growled.

"Think about it, Walker," Link stated, looking directly at the dying exorcist, "When you were a child, the fourteenth was still on the run from the Earl. He still had yet to been found from the Earl. So why would the Earl waste time on killing a child when he could have been looking for the fourteenth?"

"Wait…Walker?" Arthur repeated, "Why did he just call you Walker?"

"Hm? Oh, that was my foster father's last name and I took it when he died," Allen explained.

"H-he wouldn't have been either Mana or Neah Walker, would he?" Liliane asked.

Everyone instantly stiffened.

"H-How did you Mana's name!" Allen snapped, standing up from his seat.

"Walker was my mother's name until she married," Arthur explained, "but before she did, she had two sons under that name because her fiancé was too stubborn to actually set up the marriage."

"S-So," Lenalee gaped.

"Mana and Neah Walker were my two older brothers," Arthur nodded.

Allen felt his breath catch in his throat. This couldn't have been happening. If what this man…If what his father was saying was true, then he was a blood relative to a Noah! That would explain why he chose him to be his host. But…But Mana never told him that he had any siblings! Mana never told him that he looked like any child he had ever seen.

Allen took a few steps backwards before running into Link. He brought his hand up to clench at his chest. His breath quicken to the point that he felt like he was going to hyperventilate. He knew that his comrades where staring at him in concern so he tried to flash one of his fake smiles to calm them but found he couldn't. His legs started to give out under him causing to nearly come face to face with the flooring. Luckily, Lavi and Kanda had been quick enough to catch the white-haired male. As they pulled him back to his feet, now supported by both, Allen fought off unconsciousness.

"What's going on!" Liliane asked, fear evident in her voice.

"That damn drug of Komui's probably put way too much stress on his body," Lavi cursed, shifting Allen wait more onto his shoulder, "He probably was suppressing it until just now. The shock of what you told him probably pushed him over the edge."

"Wha-" the family started to ask.

"I-I'm fine," Allen finally managed to say, doing his best to shoot a warm smile to everyone in the room while he struggled for breath, "I-I just need to l-lay down for a minute."

"Right," Lavi nodded as Kanda and him shuffled over to the couch and set their fellow exorcist onto the overstuffed piece of furniture.

"W-Will he be alright?" Arthur asked, holding Liliane close.

"His heart is pounding," Poppy stated, eyes never leaving her brother's chest.

"There's something else there," Primrose added.

"Something dark," both said.

Allen's eyes shot open as pain filled his chest. He instantly knew what was going on, "D-Damn N-Noah…"

"Noah?" Ryan repeated.

Lavi sighed and looked to the two confused young exorcists, "Yeah. That's the evil that Allen told you two about when he first met you. Allen's the host of the fourteenth Noah's memories."

"The higher ups who know more about it have told us all that one day the Noah will take over Allen's body, erasing all of his own memories making him a perfect shell for the Noah to be reborn in," Lenalee added, a few tears in her eyes.

"It was with that knowledge we were all given our worst mission ever," Lavi spat, staring sternly at the two children, "And it is a mission that all exorcists take on when they join the Order."

"Wh-What is it?" Ryan asked, holding Jeniya close as tears fell from their eyes.

"We have to kill him the moment we think the Noah is about to take over," Kanda stated, staring at Allen's pained face.

"No!" Jeniya screamed, innocence activating instantly.

"Shit!" Ryan cursed, clutching at his sister as the ground beneath them all started to quake violently, "Jeniya! Calm down!"

"No! They can't do that to papa! He hasn't done anything wrong!" Jeniya cried, ignoring he brother.

"Jeniya!" all the exorcists shouted as Lavi held Allen down on the couch.

Jeniya continued to scream as the ground continued to quake. The dying fire in the fireplace was suddenly bursting with life, threatening to come out and devour them all.

"J-Jeniya," Allen whimpered, forcing himself to stand up and walk on his already shaky legs towards her.

He reached out and fell to his knees when he reached her, pulling her close. He stroked her hair as she slowly snapped out of her trance. Once she realized who was holding her, Jeniya clung to his shirt and cried openly. Ryan stared shocked at Allen's face. He could see a dark charcoal like skin color receding down his neck but there were still crosses on his forehead that had yet to fade. He watched as Allen bit down on his lip and bring his left hand up to stroke the crying girl's hair. It started to dimly shine green as he held Jeniya closer. Ryan could see the pained expression his papa held as the crosses slowly disappeared from his skin. When all evidence of the Noah that laid asleep inside of him was gone, Allen finally pulled away from Jeniya, smiling gently at her.

"Remember our promise," Allen whispered to her, "I promised that I would always be there to protect you, didn't I?"

"Y-Yeah," Jeniya nodded, rubbing her eyes dry.

"Then I will," Allen beamed, ruffling her hair, "I won't break that promise, you goofball."

Jeniya laughed as Allen struggled to stand. He watched as Link walked up to him and sighed before smiling sadly at him.

"You're going to have to tell Leverrier that, right?" Allen smiled sadly.

"Yes," Link said sadly.

"Right," Allen sighed, looking back to his family, "First two of those damn attacks now that damn Neah is trying to tell me to stop prying into his life."

"Two damn attacks?" Lavi repeated.

"Yeah," Allen nodded slowly, not looking at the bookman, "I know that you've been recording them too, Lavi. I went through two of them while I was changing earlier."

Allen slowly turned to smile at the redhead, a confuse look on his face, "I'm a bit worried about them myself. I've never experienced these kind of things before. Maybe I'm getting sick or something."

'I wish I didn't have to play along with this plot of theirs,' Allen thought sadly to himself, 'I just don't want them to worry about me. The easiest way to do that is to play along with them.'

"Neah? Arthur questioned.

"Yeah," Allen sighed, running a hand through his hair, "Neah was the fourteenth Noah and the Noah to betray the Earl. Sometime while he was on the run with Mana, he somehow passed his memories into me, making me the host of his return. Apparently he didn't want me to know that I was actually blood related to him."

"A-Allen," Skylar whimpered.

"Oh well," Allen shrugged, walking up to his mother.

He suddenly wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug, "It's nice, isn't it?"

"Huh?" Liliane gaped as she slowly returned the hug.

"It's warm," Allen smiled gently, "I've always tried to picture what a hug from my own mother would feel like but I don't think that was ever close."

Both mother and son felt tears fill up their eyes, "This is really nice."

Slowly, Allen pulled away and looked straight into his mother's eyes, chuckling lightly, "I hate to admit it but for the longest time, I resented my parents because I thought that they had abandoned me because of my arm. Never once did I think that they wanted to keep me. When I first heard that, I felt awful for feeling anything but love towards you. I hated that I thought that a mother could willingly give up her own child.

"But now, all I can think of is how I don't want to let you guys go," Allen smiled sadly, gently pushing some of his mother's hair behind her ear, "cause I know that I'll never see you guys again."

"Wha-" Liliane started to question.

"I'm an exorcist for the Black Order, mom," Allen smiled gently, a few tears streaking down his cheeks, "I'm not allowed to have any real connections with the outside world. They don't want any more akuma to be created than need to be. And I agree with them."

"Why?" Liliane asked, tears flowing from her eyes, "Why would you agree with them?"

"…because I turned Mana into one," Allen stated sadly, bringing her hand up to his scar, "He died and I was so distressed that I listened to the Earl. I trapped Mana in an akuma's body and he cursed me for it. Then…Then I killed him again with my innocence. After that day, I was no longer a boy with auburn hair and a sweet look on life. I was an exorcist with pure white hair and a cursed eye that allowed him to see the souls of the akuma.

"I can't stray from that path," Allen said, smiling again, "Mana told me to keep walking, and though I no longer believed that he loved me for a son, I can't bring myself to break that promise with him. I've chosen this path and now I must walk it for the remainder of my life. It is my fate to.

"but," Allen paused and looked to all of his family, "I can honestly say that I'm extremely happy to have actually gotten the chance to meet all of you. In a sense, it has almost made my life a little happier. Thank you."

With that, Allen stepped away from his mother and walked with the rest of his group to doorway. He stopped, though, as the rest passed through it. He turned back one last time and smile one of his rare real smiles.

"I can say this to all of you, finally," Allen smiled, tears flowing out of his eyes freely, "I love you."

With that, the boy that the family had been missing for thirteen years was gone was again. Liliane fell to the ground and cried as Arthur stood by her side to comfort her. The three siblings all huddled together as their own tears fell to the floor below them. After several minutes, the twins made their way over to where their mother sat.

"Mommie?" the twins questioned.

"Y-Yes," Liliane asked, rubbing her eyes gently.

"Big Brother Allen has a big heart, right?" Primrose asked.

"Yes, yes he does," Liliane smiled.

"And he's still as innocent as he was when he was a kid like us?" Poppy asked.

"I believe so," Liliane stated, standing up and holding onto Arthur's arm tightly.

"He's got such an innocent heart, right Primmie?" Poppy asked her sister.

"Yes. A big one that has lots of love that has been trapped inside of it for a long time," Primrose nodded, smiling gently towards the door.

The two were silent for a moment before looking up at their mother.

"Big Brother Allen's gonna die, isn't he?" Poppy asked, staring at the doorway.

"Yes but he lives a very important and dangerous life, sweetie," Liliane stated, "What he does is going to make the world safer for us to live in."

"No…He's dying right now," Primrose shook her head.

"He's gonna die soon, momma," the twins whispered, staring at the doorway, "That heart of his is gonna break soon…"

* * *

"Hey, Allen~!" Lavi exclaimed, slinging an arm around his shoulders.

"What?" Allen chuckled.

"How come you never asked why your mom had a French accent?" Lavi teased the boy to lift his spirits.

"Easy," Allen smirked, "I'm a proud Englishman. Why would I ever want to be French?"

"Hm?" Lavi shrugged before jogging off to torment Yuu.

"Allen?" Lenalee asked, walking right next to him.

"I'm sorry, Lenalee," Allen weakly smiled at her, "I made you go through all of this because of a wish of mine."

Lenalee gently shook her head, "That's not it. I wanted to say that I'm proud of you. If I was you, I don't know if I would be able to step away from them.

"It was hard but while they are my family, I have another one waiting for me at the Order," Allen said, looking over at Lenalee, "A family that includes you."

"M-Me?" Lenalee blushed.

"Yeah," Allen smiled gently, looking to the horizon where the sun was now setting, "You are a very important member of my family, Lenalee. I couldn't even think about living without you."

"A-Allen," Lenalee whispered, facing flushing a bright red.

"Papa!" Jeniya called out from in front of them, "Are we still going to the circus tonight?"

"Of course we are!" Allen laughed loudly, "Nothing like a good night at a circus to lift one's spirits."

'Allen…I envy you so much,' Lenalee thought, watching Allen laugh along with his adopted kids, 'You don't know what's gonna happen soon and so you can still laugh like that. It makes me wish that I didn't know anymore. The only thing that I want to know is how much I love you and that you're always gonna be with us. That's all…'

'After tonight, there will only be two candles left. I need to decide what to for my sixteenth wish,' Allen thought to himself, feeling another attack coming on, 'It won't be long now…'

* * *

_Stupid little boy, did you really think you could fight?_

_Did you honestly believe that everything would be alright?_

_The light of day is now slowly starting to fade away_

_Just like your own will be doing, day by day_

* * *

_**Allen: You suck…You know that!.?**_

_**Mizu: Occasionally, yes. Besides, be happy! At least I didn't make them hate you! Plus, now your kids know what lies dormant inside of you! Be happy I didn't make them find out when you guys are out on the battlefield.**_

_**Lenalee: Battlefield? Wait…Don't tell me that's how your gonna kill Allen!.?**_

_**Mizu: Oops…maybe, maybe not, especially now that that spoiler has gotten out from my traitorous mouth…grrr…**_

_**Lenalee: Why! Why are you gonna kill Allen! Aren't you always saying that he doesn't deserve any of the stuff he's gone through?**_

_**Mizu: *shrugs* It sounded like a good idea when I first started this fic and I'm gonna see it through. Besides, you have know idea what goes on in my mind.**_

_**Lavi: So will you tell us what goes on in that messed up mind of yours?**_

_**Mizu: *sticks tongue out at Lavi* Do you really want to ruin the story for all of the readers? **_

_**Exorcists: maybe…**_

_**Mizu: *sighs then smiles* Reviews are still extremely enjoyed and same goes to suggestions and such. By the way, to those that are cheering me on, the story is now 88 pages long! Yay! Ciao for now!**_


	18. Chp 17: The Tears That Never Stopped

_**Mizu: It's almost done! YAY! You guys have no idea how long I've waited for this chapter! The next chapter is actually what the basic storyline for this story was supposed to be before my inner mind was taken over by pink and green flying mint bunnies (they are the idea bringers of my mind). Sorry for the short chapter but I haven't had a lot of time and I REALLY wanted to get this one out there. So yeah…sorry. Disclaimer: I don't own -Man. If I did, you guys should all know by now that Leverrier would be dead by some terrible feat, right?**_

* * *

_**Chapter Seventeen- The Tears that Never Stopped Until…**_

* * *

Allen groaned as the morning sunlight rudely awoke him from his slumber. Bringing his hand up to rub his eyes, Allen looked around. Where was he? The entire room from the door to the curtains was white. His bed had something that looked like guard rails or something. There was a machine next to the bed that was making a constant beeping sound. Allen groaned again. He knew where he was now. He was back in the hospital wing.

But that was strange in it's self. He didn't remember making it back last night. All he could remember was going to the circus and then…nothing. What happened after that? What was he doing in the hospital wing anyway? He felt perfectly fine, except of the constant feel of tiredness and stiff muscles. But he was used to that now. They had been that way for a while now.

"We need to be quiet," Lenalee's voice said as she, Lavi, and Jeniya walked into the room, "Oh, you're awake Allen~!"

"M-Morning," Allen smiled gently, surprised when his voice suddenly cracked.

"Hah! Moyashi-chan hit puberty!" Lavi laughed loudly, plopping down on the side of the bed, "That's awesome!"

"Shut up, Lavi!" Allen growled, more so for the fact that his voice cracked again.

Lenalee tried to stifle her laughter while the other two laughed openly at Allen cherry red face, "I-I'm glad you're feeling better, Allen."

"What happened?" Allen questioned.

The room was suddenly quiet. Allen sighed. He knew what had happened now. He must have had an extremely bad attack or something.

"So…How long was I out for this time?" Allen joked, laughing loudly to break the tension in the room.

"Four days," Jeniya said, standing by his right side.

"Eh?" Allen stopped laughing and stared with wide-eyes at everyone in the room, "Y-You're kidding me, right?"

Lavi and Lenalee just shook their heads no. Allen swallowed hard as fear and worry filled his soul. How far had his condition progressed with that last wish? Did he still have enough time for all of his wishes?

"Lavi," Allen whispered.

"hm?" Lavi blinked.

"Can you bring me my wish log?" Allen asked, staring now out the window, "I have something that I want to add to it."

"Sure thing buddy," Lavi said, smiling warmly at his little brother before leaving to retrieve the book.

"…I guess this means I'm stuck in the infirmary for a while, right?" Allen joked a little.

Lenalee was silent before shaking her head no, "No. The Head Nurse said you could leave as soon as you woke up, so long as you don't push yourself too hard."

"Right," Allen nodded, still staring out the window, "Hey Lenalee?"

"Yes?" Lenalee questioned as she saw Allen hold Jeniya's smaller hand in his own.

"Have you ever wish that…that you were like Miranda?" Allen asked, not looking at anyone, "That you could control time? That you could rewind it or even stop it?"

"A-Allen," Lenalee whimpered before walking up next to him, "I do. I wish it every day."

Lenalee bent over the bed and gently kissed the dying teen's forehead. Allen smiled sadly as he finally looked up at the woman he loved.

"You know what? I don't," Allen smirked, chuckled lightly, "I'm glad for the time I have right now."

Lenalee flushed and stomped out of the room in a huff, dragging a confused Jeniya with her. Allen just chuckled lightly as he returned to staring out the window.

* * *

"I know that you're there, Kanda," Allen said, smile still intact on his face.

"Did you really mean what you told the girl?" Kanda questioned as he slowly walked up to his strange little brother.

"Yeah," Allen nodded, not looking at his big brother figure, "I did."

"That's stupid," Kanda sighed, "but at least your honest."

"Though I wish I could tell her the rest," Allen stated, earning a surprised look from Kanda, "I may be happy for the time I have but still…I wish that I had even more."

Allen felt the tears start to fall out of his eyes, the very tears that he had been trying so hard to hide ever since this whole things started, "I want to have enough time to watch Jeniya and Ryan grow up. I want to see the day when Lavi goes to far with bugging Komui. I want to see the day that I can tell Lenalee how I feel. I want to see the day that you find a woman to actually love and who can actually put up with you! I want to see the end of this damnable war!

"I just don't want my time to run out, Kanda!" Allen cried loudly, covering his face with his hands, "There's so much left that I want to do…So much left to see! I hate this! I hate this fate that I was dealt! I hate it so much!"

Kanda just stood there for a second, watching as the once strong Allen Walker finally broke down. After a few more seconds, Kanda slowly sat down on the edge of bed and pulled the annoying brat into a comforting hug. It wasn't one to stop his crying, though. Kanda knew all too well that that would just make it worse. No, this was to show the dying exorcist that he wasn't alone. That even though he was the most annoying creature on the earth, Kanda was there for him.

He felt Allen grasp at the clothes on his back as he cried out into his chest. He could feel how his clothes started to feel a little damp. And for the first time ever in his life, Kanda felt a pain in his chest. He felt the slight stinging in his eyes. To his surprise, Kanda had a few stray tears in his eyes. Another first. The Great Kanda Yuu, sworn rival and secret big brother of Allen Walker, was crying along with said boy. Holding him tighter, Kanda came to realize something that he had never thought of before. He didn't want the Moyashi to die.

* * *

"How much time does he have?" Lavi asked for the group as the Head Nurse walked into Komui's office.

"…" the Head Nurse was silent for a moment as she sat down on the couch, "This is such a sad way to feel nostalgia…It wasn't that long ago that I came in here to tell you his condition after he returned with those two over there."

The Head Nurse took a deep breath before continuing, "He doesn't have very much longer. His body is starting to slow down at a much faster rate than we first thought it would. Soon, it'll start shutting his systems down before…before completely stopping all together."

"Wh-What about the piece of innocence in his heart?" Komui asked, still trying to cling to some kind of hope.

"You probably haven't noticed but," the Head Nurse paused again, "He's slowly starting to eat less."

"EH!" everyone gaped.

The nurse just nodded, "His innocence, instead of trying to help by draining him of his life force to become stronger and destroy akuma, is now doing everything in its power to save his life. To do so, it's starting to take less of his energy, allowing him to use what his body actually needs. But I think…I think it just knows that it won't work. So I suppose it's going to just try and make his last days as comfortable as possible."

"So…" Komui whimpered, falling backwards into his chair, "There isn't anyway to stop this…"

Jeniya, who had been clingy to Lavi ever since all the exorcists had been called to Komui's office, finally broke down and started to cry loudly. The redhead just gently held the poor girl close as every felt tears licking at their eyes. They all thought the same thing. This wasn't right…This wasn't fair. After a long time, the group managed to compose themselves enough to continue on with their days. But the thought of their closest friend slowly dying was constantly nagging at the back of their minds.

"Komui…" Lavi sighed, standing in front of the sullen chief, "Allen wants his wish log."

Komui just handed the bookman apprentice the black book without a word. They didn't want to hear them anyways. It wasn't any use to deny it anymore. They had all failed the Order's bravest, strongest, and kindest exorcist. And there wasn't anything they could do to make it right.

* * *

"What do you mean he isn't here!" the group heard Kanda yell from Allen's hospital room.

"What's going on, Yuu!" Lavi snapped as they ran up to the fuming samurai.

"And why do you have so much food?" Ryan asked.

"That damn Moyashi said he was hungry and made me go all the way to the cafeteria to get him something to eat!" Kanda shouted, ignoring the fact that Lavi used his forbidden name, "But apparently he used that as a distraction so he could sneak out of his room!"

"What!" the Head Nurse gasped, "He can't be out of bed! He'll speed up the process if he moves around too much!"

"Where do you think he went!" Komui cried, running around frantically.

"If I knew, would we be standing here!" most of the group snapped.

"Mana," Jeniya whimpered.

"Huh?" Ryan blinked at his sister.

"Papa's 15th wish…" Jeniya whispered, barely loud enough for the group to hear, "H-He wanted to visit him…"

"Th-Then, Allen's gone to-" Lavi gulped.

"Mana's grave," Lenalee finished, "Dear gawd…"

"He must have taken the ark!" Link exclaimed before sprinting towards the science wing and the gateway.

"R-Right!" the rest agreed, rushing after the Crow.

* * *

"te ni…kisu o," Allen panted, using the walls of the buildings to help him move forward, "Please…ark…just let me…get to him…just that one…last thing…"

Allen slowly pushed open the doorway and fell forward, "That's all…all I want."

* * *

"Allen!" Lenalee cried as soon as she set foot inside the ark, "Where'd you go!" "Find the newest door!" Komui ordered as the group followed the Chinese siblings into the ark.

"Papa!" Jeniya cried, rushing forward through the white city, "Please! Come out!"

"Which door is it!" Kanda snapped, opening and slamming doors as fast as possible.

"How should I know?" Lavi growled, "It's not like I'm the one that numbers…them…damn it!"

"What?" the group blinked.

"All of the gates are numbered remember?" Lavi stated, running down the street, "So that means the biggest number is the gate he went through."

"You're right!" Krory exclaimed, racing after Lavi.

"Let's see," Komui said, trying his best to keep up, "If my memory is correct, the latest door that should be in the ark is number 99. So if he did go through the ark-"

"It should be number 100!" Ryan finished, skidding to a stop, "There is it! Just down this street!"

"We've got to hurry!" Lenalee shouted, "He could be seriously hurt or something!"

'Doubt that but still,' many of the guys sweat dropped, 'this is Allen we're talking about."

Lavi and Krory were the first to burst through the door. That's when they saw him. Their dearest friend was lying on the ground, body shivering at the cold crisp in the wind that blew all around them. His breath came at shallow gasps as his white brows knitted together with the clear expression of pain on his face. The teen's gloved hands were grasping the earth beneath them in a futile attempt to force off the pain. Every few seconds the boy would cough violently and blood would be forced out of his mouth.

"A-Allen," the two men whimpered as they just stared at him.

"m…mana," Allen breathed, moving his head to be angled further up on the earth towards a gravestone that sat atop the hill.

The two men looked at each other as a few tears fell from their eyes. They just nodded before stepping towards their fallen friend. The two exorcists gently picked up Allen and carried him up the rest of the hill before laying him down next to the grave. Just as they did so, the rest of the group came through the door, immediately seeing the three on the hill. They made no sound as they came up to them. When everyone was there, they remained silent. The silence continued as Allen curled up a close as he could with the grave. It made all of their hearts cry as they watched the tears fall from his closed silver orbs, the silence consuming them all.

"M-Mana," Allen whispered so soft they could barely hear him, "I…I don't know anymore…I don't…know if you actually loved me…as a son or…just so to get your br-brother back…but…but you could have at least t-told me that you were…that you were my uncle…or you could have t-taken me back to my parents…you really hurt them…

"This is all…so pointless," Allen continued, shocking those that were there for he had never said anything so pessimistic before, "I don't know why…I keep following your words…Mana…I don't need them…anymore….I can make my own p-path and decide if I need to…need to keep walking on that one or make a…a new one.

"This is the last time," Allen whimpered, as more tears rolled out of his eyes as they slowly opened, "I won't be…I won't be looking to you anymore…I will still love you fully but…but I won't be so blind and naïve as to…listen to someone who hid the most…the most important things in the world to me… G-Goodbye, M-Mana…"

With those words, Allen passed out into a world of nothing but darkness. Even so, the tears that fell from him never stopped. They continued to fall as Lavi carried the poor teen back to the Ark. They continued as Kanda shut the door to that gate after they had all gone through. Then, they still continued as everyone stood in shock as that gate completely disappeared from the ark. They never once stopped. Not until the next day…

* * *

If anyone had came to the Order a year ago, they'd had find it to be a place of happiness in the midst of sadness. They would have found it to be a place that even though death was constantly chasing you, the Order lifted ones' spirits. Everyone, excluding the fearsome Kanda Yuu, was smiling and always willing to make you laugh. And this was especially true for the white haired teen known as Allen Walker. You would have had to have been either truly heartless or just Kanda Yuu not to love him. He and his smile was what seemed to give the Order that spark of life that made it the safe and happy home.

But not anymore. The halls of the Order were all dead of happiness or anything like it. That emotion died in most of the residents when the saw Lavi carrying a tearful and crying Allen Walker to the infirmary. That's when they realized that it was true. Their smile…That spark of joy was finally put out just like the 15th candle in his room. Allen Walker was dying.

* * *

For the next several months, Allen struggled to cling to his consciousness. On most days, he managed to be conscious whenever his friends came in for short thirty minute visits. But other than that brief period of time, Allen was out cold in a deep sleep. His body was sweating most of the time, starting to slow down to the point of no return. The color of his porcelain-like skin was somehow grew paler every day. His once bright silver eyes grew dull. Even the once thunderous rumbling of his stomach grew softer.

Then in the fifth month of his bed rest, his stomach stopped growling all together. On the first day of this strange event, Allen did not awaken when his friends came in. This went on for another two days before Allen managed to wake up, but only for ten minutes. It was during these ten minutes that Allen finally made out his 16th wish in the dreaded wish log. It would prove to be the hardest thing in the world to obtain.

"_16._" Lavi read, hiding behind Kanda in Komui's office, "_Though Komui will probably kill me afterwards, my sixteenth wish is to go on a real date with Lenalee Lee._"

There was a complete second of silence before…

"_**WHAT!.?**_" the entire room shouted (even Kanda).

* * *

_**Mizu: HAHAHA! That's right! This story was ORIGINALLY supposed to be a comedy! Haha…aww…I just made myself sad…Anyways, I really am not kidding with this. When I first got the idea for this story, my focus was on the next chapter (that has never gotten written down) about this wish of Allen's. But then I just had to listen to one of those damn rabbits and start to think about how they got to that point and then my mind went sadistic with ideas. Hence, this story's full storyline was born. **_

_**Lavi: So basically you just made your original idea into a side story to be used in this one, right?**_

_**Mizu: Yep~!**_

_**Allen: You suck! *ducks in a bomb proof shed whenever something makes a noise***_

_**Ryan: What's he doing?**_

_**Lavi: Hiding from Komui.**_

_**Jeniya: Why?**_

_**Lenalee: Cause Nii-san is trying to kill him *sighs***_

_**Mizu: And that's how it should be! Reviews are so very much enjoyed! By the way, for those that still kind of care, this story is now *dramatic drum roll* 93 pages! Woot! So, Ciao for now!**_


	19. Chp 18: Date of Epic Failness

_**Mizu: FINALLY! This was the original idea for An Innocent Heart! Hope you guys enjoy! By the way, the next chapter or two will be the last chapters so prepare your tissues! Disclaimer: I don't own -Man. If I did, you all know that Leverrier would be dead as the latest sacrifice to the war. **_

* * *

_**Chapter Eighteen: Date of Epic Failness**_

* * *

"I'm gonna kill that impudent little rat!" Komui screamed as most of the scientists took to holding him and his newest Komurin back.

"Komui! Stop all of this nonsense!" Reever begged.

"Th-That's right," Bak Chan nodded, the poor man who had nearly been taken out by the previously rampaging robot and master when he stepped into the main branch, "A-Allen isn't gonna do anything to Lenalee."

"It's his last wish, Komui!" Johnny cried, "He knows that he's gonna die so he just wants one day to be a normal teen!"

"Have a heart, Komui!" Lavi added in, guarding the door with his hammer.

"That filthy octopus boy! I'm gonna make sure that he never looks at my precious Lenalee again!" Komui cried.

"That's enough, Nii-san!" Lenalee snapped from behind him.

"L-Lenalee?" most of the scientist blinked.

"I'm going on that date with Allen, whether or not you approve it," Lenalee said before walking towards the infirmary in a huff.

"Great…" Lavi sweat dropped, "What are we supposed to do now? There's no way that he'll let them leave the Order."

"Tie him up?" Johnny proposed.

"Or…" Bak snickered, "What if…"

* * *

"How do you propose we get Allen out of the order, Head Nurse?" Lenalee asked as Jeniya and Ryan played with their barely awake dad.

"A wheelchair maybe but…" the Head Nurse drifted off, "I just don't if he'll be able to make it…"

"…" Lenalee took a deep breath, one that trembled uncontrollably, before nodded with tears in her eyes, "I-I understand."

She slowly walked over to the other side of Allen. Gently taking a hold of his hand, Lenalee fought to keep all her tears from appearing. With a shaky hand, Lenalee brushed his oddly colored hair from his now dull and almost lifeless eyes. They flickered for a second before resting upon her.

"Allen," Lenalee said, trying to sound as calm as she could, "do you still want to go out on a date with me?"

The teen just nodded. His mouth twitched a little, a sign that he wanted to smile at her like he used to. He would try and try again to smile at everyone who would come in but his muscles didn't seem to want to work. It was obvious to see that he no longer had the energy to even do that.

"B-but, in your condition," Lenalee whimpered.

"L-Lena…l-lee…" Allen managed to say, finally forcing his lips into that famous smile, "I-I don't…c-care h-how I am…This is…m-my sixteenth wish…and I r-really want it t-to come true."

"Al-Allen," Lenalee started to cry.

"D-Don't worry…" Allen said, closing eyes for the rest of the day, "I-I'll be up…a-and walking t-tomorrow…f-for our date."

* * *

"You ready?" Lavi asked as he walked with Lenalee down to Allen's hospital room.

"I don't think he'll be able even get out of bed, let alone stand or even walk around, Lavi," Lenalee sighed.

"That's why we have plan B!" Lavi chirped before turning solemn, "Remember what the nurse told us this morning."

"I know," Lenalee whimpered, fighting her tears back, "If he does go out, this will be his last day…I hate this so much…"

"I do too," Lavi sighed, "That's why Central is ordering everyone to return today."

"They're afraid that when he dies, the ark might stop working, right?" Lenalee questioned as the turned a corner.

"Yeah. That's another reason why you guys are just going into town. This way if the ark does stop working, we can get back to the Order without too much hassle," Lavi continued.

"Remind me again, why is it that you're tagging along?" Lenalee smiled.

"We've been receiving reports of akuma in the area, remember?" Lavi laughed, "Komui doesn't want Allen fighting them-"

"And he wants someone to act as his eyes, right?" Lenalee giggled as they came to Allen's room.

"Walker-san! What are you doing out of your bed!" the head nurse's voice shouted, sending Lenalee and Lavi rushing into the room.

"Just getting ready for my date," Allen beamed, fixing his favorite red neck tie as he stood in front of a mirror.

'Damn Noah. Taunting me from the mirror,' Allen growled inside of his head as the two other exorcists walked up next to him.

"Y-You're up?" the two gaped.

"Of course I'm up!" Allen laughed loudly, bright smile on his face, "What kind of date would it be if I was stuck in bed?"

"We found it!" Jeniya beamed as she ran into the room with Ryan.

"We found the pocket watch you wanted!" Ryan added, handing the worn out device to the white-haired teen.

"Thanks you two!' Allen beamed again as he attached the chain to his belt loop and then placed the watch into his pocket, "Shall we be off then, Miss Lenalee?"

Lenalee just nodded as Allen gently took her hand and headed off towards the ark.

"Coming you three?" Allen said from the doorway, smirking just a bit, "I know that Komui ordered you guys to be his guard dogs."

"Ah! Right!" the three nodded before following after the confusing exorcist.

'What the crud is going on here?' Lavi thought, 'Allen couldn't even smile yesterday. How is it that he can walk around like this?'

The group froze for a second as the Order shook violently for a second.

"What was that?" Allen blinked, looking around.

* * *

"Where would you like to go first, Lenalee?" Allen smiled as they walked down the street.

"um…" Lenalee started to ponder when an insanely loud growling disturbed her train of thought, "W-Was that your stomach, Allen?"

"Oops…Guess it was a little loud, huh?" Allen flushed, placing his left hand over his stomach, "What do you say we go get something to eat?"

"Sure!" Lenalee beamed.

"Where do you wanna go?" Allen asked, looking around for a good shop.

"Hm…What about that place?" Lenalee pointed out.

"Which one?" Allen asked, looking in the direction that she was pointing.

"That one. Jack of All Trades," Lenalee smiled, dragging Allen off towards it.

"Well this is certainly a strange restaurant," Allen said as he flipped through the menu.

"I agree. I never knew that a place with such a wide variety of food would exist in London," Lenalee giggled.

"So what are you going to get?" Allen chuckled, setting down the menu.

"I think I'll just go with an order of Fish and Chips. I mean, the Order's been in England for so long but I've never had them," Lenalee admitted.

"That's a bit strange," Allen chuckled again, signaling for the waiter to come over.

"What about you, Allen?" Lenalee asked.

"Well, I'm going to have-" Allen started to say.

"May I now take your order?" a familiar voice said.

"Ah, yes," Allen smiled, turning to greet the waiter, "Reever!"

"Hush!" Reever flinched.

"What are you doing here?" Lenalee demanded.

"Your brother is out roaming the streets trying to find you guys and ordered all of the scientists and a lot of finders to help him," Reever sighed, "I was stationed at the restaurants on this street…"

"Great…" Allen whined, sliding down in his seat, "I'm doomed."

"Not really. We all agreed to help him just so we could be sure that he doesn't ruin your date," Reever winked at the two, "After he broke out of his sealed room, this is the least we could do."

"So how is this working out for you?" Allen asked dryly, looking out the window.

"What are you talking about?" Reever blinked.

Allen just pointed out the window. Reever and Lenalee looked out of it and instantly paled. Komui was a top one of his insane robots, racing towards the shop they were in.

"Mayday! Mayday!" Reever shouted into his headset, "Chief Crazy is headed towards Jack of All Trades! Allen and Lenalee are here!"

Allen sighed and began to look through the menu once more while Lenalee quietly drank her tea. They looked out the window just in time to see a very annoyed Kanda jump in front of the robot and tear it to shreds. The two blinked in confusion as they watched the pissed off samurai drag off a hysterical Komui while one lookers stood frozen.

"Thank goodness," Reever sighed, picking up his pad again.

"I take it this means you've roped in all the exorcists to help you out?" Allen sweat dropped.

"Pretty much," Reever beamed, "Oh, and Jerry too!"

"H-How's Jerry gonna-"

"Order up!" the cheerful voice of their beloved chef called out from the kitchen.

"…I see," Lenalee and Allen sweat dropped again.

"So what will you two have?" Reever asked.

"Fish and Chips please!" Lenalee beamed.

"And you, Allen?" Reever asked.

Allen smirked and handed Reever the menu, "Just tell Jerry that I want everything."

Reever choked on his breath before nodding, "And you three over there?"

Lavi, Jeniya, and Ryan jumped at Reever's voice and tried to hide behind their menus, "W-We'll just have what Lenalee's having!"

* * *

"That was delicious!" Allen said happily, walking out the door of the shop.

"I can't believe you ate all of that," Lenalee giggled, "I thought you haven't been eating a lot."

"I was just a little sick for the past week or so, that's all!" Allen beamed, leading Lenalee to the door, "Now, mi lady, where shall we venture to next?"

"Hm…I know! There's a carnival in town today, right? Let's go there!" Lenalee beamed happily.

Lavi and his two helpers stepped out of the shop and just stared as Lenalee ran down the street with a laughing Allen behind her. Lavi felt the smile widening on his face. He didn't know how and didn't care why, but Lavi was so happy that Allen was able to enjoy his final wish. Stretching, Lavi leisurely started after the two.

"Let's go after them before Komui does, shall we?" Lavi joked with the two kids behind him.

"Right!" they nodded.

* * *

For the majority, the day was going off without a hitch. The two exorcists were enjoying a day of being just normal teens. Lenalee would drag him to each stall and point at all the amazing things they had. Allen would just laugh and make sure to win her something from each game. None of the cheating venders were ever expecting a professional cheater to stop at their stalls. Especially the only place that played poker. Lenalee let Allen go a little black on that one. The day had so far been without interruption as well. If Komui ever tried something, neither noticed.

The thing was…Komui was constantly trying to ruin it. He truly was.

* * *

*roughly five hours earlier*

"Mwuhahahahahahaha!" Komui cackled from inside of his sealed room as he help up a piece of paper, "This will be the greatest plan in the entire world!"

Date of Epic Failness!

Step one: Escape from the sealed room that the octopus named Allen Walker's helpers locked me in.

Komui smirked as he dug through all the piles of paper that littered the room. He dove under his bed and yelled out happily when he found what he sought. A bright red button on a remote. Now the crazed scientist set off searching for his head set, that being atop his ceiling fan. (don't ask why. ) Putting it on, Komui gleefully pressed the red button.

"Sir Komurin Mega Ex! Come rescue your master!" Komui shouted into headset.

There was a loud sound from below Komui's room as the Order began to shake violently. The second it stopped, Komui found himself covering his eyes from the bright light that was now pouring through his doorway. When he could finally open his eyes, Komui let out a girlish squeal as he glomped his robot.

"Freedom!" Komui squealed.

* * *

Step two: Rope in some hostag…ahem, volunteers.

"Listen up! My precious little sister has been kidnapped by an evil none of us have ever seen!" Komui announced from atop Mega Ex Komurin.

"When did you make another damn robot!" Reever snapped.

"Lenalee's just out with Allen, Chief!" Johnny shouted up at the deranged man, "Allen won't do anything-"

"Silence!" Komui bellowed, ordering Mega Ex Komurin to grab everyone in the room, "You are all going to assist me! That's an order!"

"d-damn you chief…" Reever cursed as Mega Ex stuffed them into a giant container where Johnny ended up sitting on Reever's face.

* * *

Step three: Find the Octopus

"Where are you, Allen Walker~?" Komui called throughout the streets of London in a far too sugary sweet voice.

He ignored the odd looks he received from the townspeople when he noticed Allen and his precious little Lenalee in a shop.

"There you are!" Komui smirked, laughing evilly, "Forward, Mega Ex Komurin!"

The robot was suddenly racing towards the shop while Komui cackled loudly. That is…until a very annoyed Kanda Yuu jumped down from his perch atop the restaurant and destroyed the robot with ease. Komui sat on the ground staring his precious robot before breaking down in tears.

"K-Kanda! You big, stupid, mean, octopus helper!" Komui cried hysterically, once again ignoring the strange looks he received from the townspeople.

"Shut up!" Kanda snapped, punching the scientist hard on the head before dragging him away.

Komui continued to cry until he saw his Lenalee walked down the street with the octopus.

"I can't believe you ate all of that," Lenalee giggled, "I thought you haven't been eating a lot."

"I was just a little sick for the past week or so, that's all!" Allen beamed, leading Lenalee to the door, "Now, mi lady, where shall we venture to next?"

"Hm…I know! There's a carnival in town today, right? Let's go there!" Lenalee beamed happily.

"The carnival, huh?' Komui smirked, earning a growl from the normally stoic samurai, "We'll just have to see how much fun you two will have at the carnival, shan't we?"

Suddenly, the Japanese exorcist was surrounded by smoke. When it finally cleared, the head of the European Branch of the Order was no where to be seen.

"Crap…" Kanda cursed as he charged out of the alley that he had been standing in, running straight into a redheaded Lavi.

"Yuu!" Lavi gasped, "Weren't you supposed to watching Komui?"

"I was until the devil got away!" Kanda snapped, racing down the street.

"Wonderful," Lavi sighed.

* * *

Step four: Destroy the Octopus

"I have you now," Komui smirked, pointing his octogun at Allen's head from atop a rooftop, "Let's see how close you two will be once I hit you with this."

"Chief!" Lavi shouted, jumping in front of Komui and his gun just as the scientist fired.

Once the smoke cleared, Lavi found himself stuck into the same octohead that Komui hit Allen with a long time ago. Cursing the Chinese out mightily, Lavi proceeded to try and remove the head from his own. Kanda came up behind the redhead and for the first time in a long time, Kanda had to fight not to laugh. Composing himself, the stoic man just stepped on the crazed brother's back before he could reload the gun. Smirking down at the man, Kanda took a second to look down at the Moyashi and see his bright smile.

"Did you hear that Allen?" Lenalee blinked, looking around for a second, "It sounded like Nii-san's voice or something."

"You're probably just imagining it," Allen laughed, "I know I've caught myself doing that several times today."

"You're right," Lenalee giggled.

Kanda finally turned his attention back down to the scientist only to find him missing again.

"Shit!" Kanda cursed, grabbing the redhead and going off to search for the scientist.

* * *

Step four: _Destroy the Octopus_

"Let's see you escape me this time, Octoboy," Komui smirked preparing his bomb.

"There you are!" Kanda snapped, dropping the redhead he had been dragging.

"You're too late this time, Kanda!" Komui laughed loudly, lighting the bomb, "Nothing can stop me this ti-"

Jeniya came up from behind Kanda and screamed. The roof they stood on started to shake as the vines only the side of the house started to wrap themselves around Komui. Cursing, Komui quickly threw the bomb at Allen, who had just pulled back to throw a ball so he could win Lenalee a prize. When the bomb would have exploded in front of Allen, the exorcist released the ball. This somehow pushed the bomb to where the bottles stood before it exploded. The stand keeper just blinked in disbelief while Allen laughed nervously.

"Oops," Allen laughed nervously, "I guess I don't know my own strength…hm…I didn't think that my left arm would cause that to happen though."

"Oh well," Lenalee laughed, taking a giant stuffed panda a price.

"Now calm down Komui," Ryan said, walking up to the trapped Chinese man.

"Never!" Komui shouted when another robot suddenly grabbed Komui and ran off.

"H-He…" the group gaped, "He has more robots!"

* * *

Step four: _**Destroy the Octopus!**_

"Now, Komurin Alpha!" Komui cackled from atop the robot, "Show that octopus your Fist of Devoting Love!"

The robot reared back its arm before launching its fist towards Allen and Lenalee, who were enjoying a large cotton candy together. Kanda and the others just froze as the watched the fist get closer and closer to Allen. Not even Kanda would be able to run fast enough to stop the arm. But Ryan wasn't giving up. He quickly activated his innocence and prepared to shoot off the largest arrow he could at the hand.

"Almost…Almost," Ryan said as he concentrated on the arrow, "_**Go**_!"

The arrow flew through air with lightning speed, colliding with the fist just before it could reach the couple. The arrow was not strong enough to destroy the fist, though. It was, strong enough to force the fist back in the direction it came from. Everyone heard Komui's girly scream as he dived for cover just as the fist collided with Komurin Alpha. It exploded in a shower of lights just as Allen and Lenalee turned to see where the scream came from.

"Ooh! Look! Fireworks!" Lenalee beamed.

"Yeah, but why are they going off in the middle of the day?" Allen asked, tilting his head to the side, "Did they go off too soon?"

"Maybe that's why we heard the scream," Lenalee pointed out.

* * *

Step four: _**Destroy the Octopus!**_

"Come one! Come all! Come test your strength and win a prize," A man with a Italian accent and mustache called just as Allen and Lenalee passed by, "You there! The man with the strange hair."

"Me?" Allen blinked as he helped Lenalee carry her stuffed animals, balloons, and other prizes.

"Yes you! Why I bet you're far too tiny to even hit the bar up to this spot," the man boasted, knowing that most men can't stand being challenged, "But I make you a deal. If you can get even a little bit passed this line, I'll give your lady friend a price."

'Tiny?' the inner black half of Allen growled.

"No thanks. I know that that thing's rigged," Allen smiled politely, "Shall we go, Lenalee?"

Lenalee was just about to nodded when the man said something she wished he hadn't.

"Aren't you such a coward, shrimpy," the man snickered, earning a glare from Lenalee who signaled him to shut up, "What's the matter? Too afraid of showing this lady how small of a man you are?"

'Shrimpy? Small?' Black Allen hissed from inside Allen's mind as Allen shook in fury.

'Don't get mad…Don't get mad,' the better half of Allen thought, 'That's just what he wants-'

"What kind of man doesn't try to win his girl a prize?" the man smirked, noticing the way that Allen flinched, "Oh, that's right! You're not a man! You're a midge-"

Lenalee flew up to the man and tried to cover his mouth but it was too late. Black Allen had appeared.

"Give me that hammer," Allen growled before snatching it from the man, "I'll show you how looks can be deceiving. I'm only gonna use my right hand."

Allen swung the hammer down onto the target, sending the bar shooting up to collide with the bell.

"Now give me my damn prize," Allen snickered.

"Th-That was a fluke!" the man shouted, running up to the stand, loosening the springs, "the springs weren't set right."

"Whatever," Allen said, switching to his left hand, "You asked for it."

Allen swung the hammer down rather hard and the flew back up and kept going after taking out the bell.

"Now," Allen smirked as Lenalee clung to his right arm happily, "I want our prize, mister."

"T-Take it," the man whimpered as Allen grabbed a giant stuffed elephant that was the same size as he was.

"Here you go, Lena," Allen beamed.

"Thanks!" Lenalee beamed, loving the nickname that Allen gave her.

"I'm gonna get you this time," Komui growled from several yards back, "Dodge this one!"

"Damn it!" Lavi cursed, now struggling to get the second octopus off of his head, "Somebody grab him!"

"I-I'm a little busy Lavi!" Ryan snapped, trying to pull off his own octopus head while Kanda and Jeniya laid on the ground, passed out due to Komui's blow darts.

"Chief!" Reever shouted, launching himself onto the crazed man along with many other scientist, "You can't do this!"

"Oh yes I can!" Komui snapped, loading his bunny bombs in his gun.

"When do you find time to make all of this stuff!" Johnny cried, clinging to the flailing man desperately.

"Huh?" Komui blinked, looking up to see something flying towards them, "Ahhh!" All of the scientist look up and let out a scream before pushing Komui to the side. In their haste, Komui dropped his gun on the ground. Everyone looked back at the gun just in time to see the bar that had flown off of the strength game connect with the gun. The gun then exploded into a bright light as Allen and Lenalee turned around.

"Okay, I know that I heard Nii-san that time," Lenalee pouted, noticing the bright light.

"Five bucks says that that explosion was thanks to your brother," Allen sighed before the two headed off down the street.

* * *

He wouldn't tell her. No, he wouldn't tell any of them. He knew that this was his last day. He knew why he was dying. He knew that after this day, something would go so terribly wrong then…then it would be over.

* * *

_The day has finally arrived_

_From which this pain derived _

_Soon nothing will remain_

_And with his blood, the earth shall be stained._

* * *

_**Mizu: Dramatic change of tone at the end. Don't cha guys love it?**_

_**Allen: No! I don't want to die! I just got my last wish! Why do I have to die!**_

_**Lenalee: I don't want you to do either!**_

_**Lavi: I know! Let's give Mizu Leverrier to kill instead!**_

_**Mizu: hm…as tempting as that seems, I don't want him. Anyways, this story is now *epic music starts playing* A Hundred and Two pages long! We did it! *does happy dance* Yay! So now, prepare yourselves everyone! The End is nigh. Ciao for now!**_


	20. Chp 19: We Aren't Humans

_**Mizu: Alright…So I lied. This isn't the final chapter. We've got several more to go through but I'm on a roll so, let's cross our fingers, k? Disclaimer: I don't own -Man. If I did, Allen would be safe and sound with the people he loves instead of having such a bad hero-complex that makes him literally risk his bloody life even for his enemies. Oh, and Leverrier would die a most painful and slow death. **_

* * *

_**Chapter Nineteen: We aren't Human…**_

* * *

"Are you alright, Allen?" Lenalee asked, linking her hand with Allen's right hand.

"Yeah I'm fine," Allen groaned, left hand holding his head, "I just got a pretty bad headache."

"You want to sit down or something?" Lenalee questioned, squeezing his hand.

"Nah," Allen smiled, shaking his head, "It's probably nothing."

"...If you say so," Lenalee sighed.

The couple made it a few more steps before Allen pulled his hand from Lenalee. His legs gave out from under him as he collapsed to the earth. The white-haired boy bit down on his lip hard enough to draw blood in an attempt not to scream. He squeezed his eyes shut in pain from the exploding lights that were now flashing in front of him. His head felt as if it literally was going to explode. It was as if there were a million level three akuma exploding inside of his skull.

"Allen!" Lenalee screamed, at his side in a split second.

Allen could feel his body screaming out in pain. Every cell in his being had turned against him, joining the rebellion of pain. He could feel his body unconsciously curl into a ball as he tried to focus on whatever Lenalee was saying. Instead he found that his ability to hear was quickly leaving him. Without his consent, Allen felt a slight vibration in his throat from which a cry of pain started from.

"Lavi! Kanda! Where are you!" Lenalee cried out, cradling Allen's head in her lap, "Please! Somebody! Anybody! Help him!"

"What seems to be the matter?" a woman asked as she knelt next to Lenalee.

"Please, help us. He's dying," Lenalee cried, looking at the woman as tears raced down her cheeks.

"Really?" a man's deep voice sounded from behind them, sending heart stopping chills up Lenalee's spine, "That's such a shame to hear, Miss Exorcist."

"Tyki!" Lenalee gasped, activating her Dark Boots.

"How about I take him off of your hands, then?" Tyki smirked as the woman transformed into Lulubell.

"Master will be pleased when he hears of this," Lulubell added as Lenalee quickly grabbed Allen and ran down the street.

"Lavi! Kanda! Where are you guys go!" Lenalee yelled as she rushed towards where she had last seen her crazy brother's attempts at ruining her date, "There you guys are!" "Lenalee?" Lavi blinked, removing the final octopus from his head, "What happened to Allen?"

"Papa!" Jeniya cried, stumbling to her father.

"Damnit!" Ryan cursed, trying to get the last octopus off of his head.

"I think he went into an attack or something," Lenalee sniffled, "But that's not the worse thing!"

"What is?" Lavi asked, taking Allen from Lenalee.

"Them!" Lenalee exclaimed when she turn and saw the two Noah heading in their direction.

"Shit! Yuu!" Lavi snapped, kicking Kanda in the head, "Time to act like a big brother and protect Allen from some crazy people.

"What the hell, baka usagi?" Kanda groaned as he shakily stood up, "What's going on?"

"Noah," Lavi almost growled, shoving Allen into the samurai's arms, "You take Allen and get him back to the Order. Lenalee and I will hold these two clowns back."

"Right," Kanda nodded, starting off towards where the gateway was.

"Ryan, you and Jeniya go with Kanda to give him so back up. If these two Noah are here, there must be a lot of akuma around," Lenalee ordered, glaring at the Noah.

"Sure thing!" Ryan shouted, ignoring the last octopus and heading after Kanda.

"Count on us!" Jeniya added, following her brother.

"You exorcists really think you'll get away from us?" Tyki chuckled.

"Tyki, you go after Allen Walker," Lulubell said calmly.

"Eh? That's not any fun," Tyki blinked.

"Go and retrieve the boy," Lulubell said, staring down Lenalee, "I'll take care of these fools.

"Whatever you say," Tyki sighed, sinking down into the ground.

"Damn it," Lavi cursed, looking over at Lenalee, "Lenalee, you go after Kanda and them."

"Huh? Why?" Lenalee questioned, eyes never leaving where Lulubell stood.

"Tyki is going after Allen, I just know it," Lavi explained, "And as it stands, Yuu's in no condition to fight a Noah. Plus Ryan and Jeniya have never been in a fight before and Allen's still basically completely out of it right now."

"But Lavi-" Lenalee started to argue.

"We can't let the Earl have Allen, Lenalee," Lavi growled, tightening his grip on his now activated hammer, "If Tyki gets ahold of Allen, at best he'll kill Allen and destroy his innocence again. But at worse…"

"At worse?" Lenalee trembled.

"They'll take Allen to the Earl and have him changed into the fourteenth," Lavi spat, "We can't let that happen to Allen. I don't want to have to fight him, Lenalee."

Lenalee stood silent for a minute before racing down the street towards the gateway.

'Be safe, Lavi,' Lenalee prayed as she zoomed down the street.

"You must be pretty cocky to send your partner away," Lulubell chimed in.

"Nah, just know how you fight," Lavi smirked, "This should be a good battle."

"Interesting," Lulubell nearly smirked.

* * *

"Hurry up, Kanda!" Ryan shouted, innocence activated as he stood in front of the gateway.

"Stop yelling at me! I'm still trying to get over Komui's stupid dart!" Kanda snapped at the boy as he stumbled a bit, "Remind me to maim him later."

"No problem," Ryan smirked.

"They keep coming!" Jeniya yelled as her innocence killed three akuma.

"Just a little longer, Jeniya!" Ryan shouted, scanning the area for any signs of danger, "Could you please hurry it up, Kanda!"

"I told you to shut-" Kanda started to snapped, eyes widening when he saw something that made his blood run cold.

"I found you," Tyki half sang as he rose up from the ground next to Ryan.

"Wha-" Ryan sounded before being blown away from the gate.

"Shit!" Kanda growled, shifting Allen so that he could unsheathe Mugen, "You fucking Noah…"

"I'll be taking the boy off of your hands now," Tyki smirked, hand extending towards Kanda.

"Like hell you will," Kanda growled, backing up a few steps.

"Now, let's be reasonable people, exorcist," Tyki chuckled, "I know you aren't in any condition to fight and even less to protect someone. Why waste your life on protecting his?"

Kanda tightened his grip on Allen. He felt the Moyashi's hands grip at his shirt tighten in response. The boy's breath was becoming shallow and rapid as Kanda glared down the Noah. His body was drenched in it's own perspiration. His limbs were completely limb and his silver eyes were squeezed shut. The white hair that had caused Allen to be shunned for much of his teen life now clumped together on his head or hung loosely around his face. It was obvious that no matter what Kanda did, Allen was going to die within the next hour. Gritting his teeth, Kanda came to his decision.

"There's no way in hell that I'd let him go to the likes of you," Kanda hissed, raising Mugen up higher.

"Such a shame," Tyki sighed, walking up to Kanda.

"Papa!" Jeniya screamed, throwing herself at Tyki, innocence at full power, "No! I won't let you hurt my papa!"

"Brat!" Tyki cursed as thick vines came out of the ground and wrapped around his limbs.

"J-Jeniya," Ryan stuttered, racing up to his sister, "You leave my family alone, you monster!"

"Stupid, immature brats!" Tyki shouted, sending the two siblings flying through the ark.

"J-Jeniya," Allen whimpered, eyes slowly opening, "R-Ryan…"

"Oh, so he's awake," Tyki chuckled evilly.

"D-Damn you, T-Tyki," Allen tried to growl, voice coming out nothing more than a low whisper.

"Good to see you as well," Tyki laughed.

Allen slowly raised his hand and looked to the ark, "K-Kanda?"

"What is it, Moyashi?" Kanda growled, still glaring down the Noah.

"I'm going to destroy this gate now," Allen whispered, fighting to stay conscious.

"What?" Kanda gaped.

"I don't want Jeniya or Ryan to come back out here," Allen said, breathing heavily, "So you guys will have to find a new way home."

Kanda just stared at the white-haired teen for a moment before nodding, "I'll make sure to tell them why you did this."

"Th-Thank you, Kanda," Allen smiled, weakly, "…This is it, eh?"

"…Yeah," Kanda whispered, gently placing Allen on the ground to better wield his innocence.

Allen just sat there for a second before sounding, "Make sure I die before they can get me."

"No problem," Kanda smirked, turning his attention back to Tyki, "Allen."

Allen just smirked and let out a bitter laugh, "Call me Moyashi, BaKanda."

Suddenly, the gate of the ark exploded in a million pieces of white light, startling Tyki for a second. Kanda took this moment of shock and made his move. He drew Mugen down, aiming to take out one of the devil's arms. Tyki, noticing Kanda's sudden movements, managed to move out of the way of the blade enough to get away with just a slight scratch. Kanda che'd.

While Tyki was distracted with Kanda, Allen forced himself to stand up and stagger away from the fight. He stumbled down the street, trying a place of refuge. All he had to do was wait at least an hour and then it would all be over. Ducking into an alleyway, Allen let out the tears he had been trying to keep back. There was no turning back now.

"Stupid fate," Allen growled as he let Timcampy out of it's hiding place, "You know what to do, right Tim?"

The golem slowly nodded before landing in its master's hair. Allen let a gentle smile rest upon his face as he looked out the alley way to see Lenalee race by. More tears slowly fell out of his eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Lenalee," Allen whimpered silently as he slowly let himself slip into a familiar darkness.

* * *

"Kanda!" Lenalee screamed, racing towards him and kicking at Tyki.

"Reinforcements, eh?" Tyki smirked, noticing something, "Where'd the boy go?"

"Don't worry about Moyashi," Kanda scoffed, bringing his Mugen down on Tyki's back, "He has nothing to do with this."

"Fuck!" Tyki cursed as Lenalee tried to land a hit on his head.

Dodging by mere centimeters, Tyki sunk into the ground yet again. Kanda let out a curse and turned to Lenalee.

"Allen went back towards the carnival about three minutes ago," Kanda said, "You go find him. He's not going to last much longer."

"R-Right," Lenalee nodded, turning to go running the way she had came.

"Good day, exorcists!" A sinisterly happy voice sounded from above them. Kanda and Lenalee froze instantly, eyes shooting to the sky. There they saw the Noah's ark opening up in the sky as Road and Lero flew out into the sky. Growling, Kanda shoved Lenalee toward the way she had to go.

"Go! Hurry!" Kanda snapped as Tyki reappeared underneath him.

* * *

"Allen!" Lenalee called, rushing down the street, stopping at an alleyway, "Allen?"

There was a sudden flash of yellow that blurred her vision for a second, "Timcampy!"

As the golden orb landed on her shoulder, Lenalee's eyes settled on the form of a young male's body. A young male with pale white hair, strange left arm, a red scar descending down the left side of his face. A young male that didn't appear to be breathing. A young man named Allen Walker.

"Allen," Lenalee sighed relieved, as she walked up to the boy, "There you are."

"L-Lena…Lee," Allen breathed out, "s-sorry…"

"Shush," Lenalee hushed, tears rolling off her face, "I'm here."

Lenalee knelt next to him to him, gently pushing his snow white hair out of his face. Smiling weakly at him, the Chinese exorcist carefully picked her next words as she slowly picked him up.

"L-Let's go home, Allen," Lenalee stuttered, gently kissing the pentagram over his left eye, "Together."

"Wait…" Allen whimpered, tugging on Lenalee's arm weakly.

"What is it Al-" Lenalee started to ask before she and Allen were sent flying as an explosion hit just behind them.

Before she knew what happened, Lenalee found herself wrapped an a warm cloak of white as she laid on the ground re-gathering her bearings. She looked up and saw Allen poised over her, blood slowly dripping down from the left side of his face as his elbows nearly gave in. Allen let out a startled gasped before it turned into a cough, spitting out some blood as well.

"A-Allen," Lenalee whimpered, looking up at him with wide eyes.

Allen just smiled gently down at the young woman as his left eye activated, "A-Are you alright, Lenalee?"

"Deactivate your innocence!" Lenalee screamed, gripping Allen's forearms tightly, "Deactivate it right now, Allen!"

"Wh-Why?" Allen asked, looking confused for a second.

"Y-You'll die if you don't!" Lenalee cried, pushing her head up into his chest, "I couldn't live with myself if I let you die like this!"

"I-I won't die, Lenalee," Allen said, trying to laugh gently.

"Yes you will!" Lenalee cried again, "Deactivate it!"

"I won't," Allen stated.

"Do it!" Lenalee screamed at the boy she loved.

"No," Allen said calmly.

"Please! Deactivate your stupid innocence!" Lenalee shouted.

"I will not!" Allen shouted back, a little softer in tone.

"Why not!" Lenalee cried, unaware of whatever else was going on.

"Because I'm an exorcist, Lenalee," Allen said, smiling a bit as he forced Lenalee to look at him, "And I will never stop being one."

"B-But Allen-" Lenalee started to argue.

"I'm an exorcist for the Black Order, sworn enemy to the Millennium Earl," Allen stated, "It is my duty to stop the Earl whenever given the chance and release the trapped souls of all the akuma I can."

"But you'll die!" Lenalee exclaimed, pleading as she stared into his eyes, "I can't let you do this!"

"Don't keep me from the battlefield, Lenalee," Allen whispered, pleading to her as well.

"You're not strong enough to fight them, Allen!" Lenalee shouted at the boy, "Right now, you're no stronger than an average human! You'll die with just a flick of their pinkies!"

"You're wrong, Lenalee," Allen whispered again, closing his eyes for a second.

"Wha?" Lenalee blinked, tears still falling.

"You should know better than anyone, Lenalee," Allen whispered, lips trembling as he fought off his own tears, "You know that when we meet up with akuma or the Noah, our blood runs with excitement. When we meet them, we don't normally think things through. We charge in and attack them. It's what our bodies crave."

"N-No," Lenalee whimpered.

"It's true. The innocence that binds us to this war is what causes us to crave that," Allen slowly nodded, "And when we aren't allowed to gain that satisfaction that destroying those creatures brings, we grow angry and frustrated."

"Th-That's not true," Lenalee trembled.

"One part of us might be angry that we can't do anything to help, but it's the other part that propels us into battle whether we can fight or not," Allen finished, "It's who we are, Lenalee."

"S-stop it," Lenalee whined.

"We are exorcists, Lenalee, not humans," Allen said, clear tears rolling out of his right eye and tears of blood rolling out of his left eye, "We are born to fight these creatures until the day we die. It is the one thing in this world that we are constantly longing for. We have never been humans, and we never will be."

Lenalee squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to block out his words of truth, "N-No…"

"Lenalee," Allen whimpered, leaning down and pressing his lips onto Lenalee's, "Please…Don't deny me that one thing. Don't try and tell me that I can't do what I am meant to do."

"A-Allen," Lenalee whimpered again, looking into his eyes.

"Please let me join the battlefield," Allen pleaded, looking straight into her eyes.

Lenalee felt her lip tremble as she slowly nodded with her consent. Allen's eyes seemed to brighten back to they're original shine as the smile on his face grew gentle and warm. Then, one last time, he sealed his lips over her own. They stayed like that for a few moments before he pulled away, smile still on his lips.

"Thank you," Allen whispered before retreating up towards where akuma floated overhead.

Lenalee slowly sat up as she brought a hand to her lips. Never before had she ever thought of life that way. Never before had she ever been told such a sadistic reason as to why they fought. Never before had she ever been told the truth.

"I see," Lenalee whispered, standing up and activating her Dark Boots, "If that is the case, then I suppose I best be joining him on the battle field."

* * *

"Lenalee?" Lavi gasped as Lenalee's Dark Boots nearly collided with Lulubell's head, "What are you doing back here?"

"Be quiet Lavi," Lenalee nearly growled, almost taking Lulubell's head off of her shoulders.

"Foolish human!" Lulubell cursed, whip sending Lenalee flying back into Lavi.

Lavi somehow managed to stay on his feet as Lenalee used his shoulders and her momentum to stop her self and land next to him. Once her feet touched the ground, Lenalee couldn't stop the dark chuckle that left her throat.

"Oh really?" Lenalee chuckled darkly, "I don't tend to think that."

"What's going on, Lenalee? Why aren't you with Allen!" Lavi snapped quietly at the Chinese girl.

"Don't worry about Allen. He'll be fine," Lenalee whispered, somehow finding comfort in her own words.

"So he made it back home?" Lavi asked, raising his hammer high.

"No, he's fighting along with us," Lenalee said before charging after Lulubell.

"…What!" Lavi gasped.

* * *

"Kanda!" Ryan shouted, landing next to the panting samurai.

"What are you doing back here?" Kanda snapped, eyes darting around rapidly.

"Do you really think we'd leave you guys out here to fight alone?" Ryan growled, aiming his innocence at a level 2 akuma above them.

"Where's your sister?" Kanda asked just before a high pitch scream sounded. The ground shuttered for a second before large rocks, slightly glowing green, flew up towards several akuma, "Nevermind."

"Where's my dad?" Ryan asked, destroying another akuma.

"Probably somewhere away from here," Kanda scoffed, bringing Mugen down on the earth the second he saw Tyki's head, "Gah! It's like Wack-A-Noah!"

"Eh…Somewhere safe?" Ryan said, lowering his innocence for a second, "Um…Kanda?"

"What!" Kanda snapped, dodging Tyki by millimeters.

"Look up," Ryan gaped as he pointed up.

Kanda growled as he did so, jaw dropping instantly, "Moyashi!"

* * *

Allen was making his way up to the ark was floating in the sky by using the tons of akuma as stepping stones. As he jumped, the Crown Clown slowly wrapped itself around its master's limbs. Allen felt the familiar feeling of power surge through his system and couldn't help his smile.

"You're anxious too, right Crown Clown?" Allen chuckled darkly.

His innocence seemed to send a rush of new adrenaline through him in response.

"Good," Allen smirked, landing on a level 3 akuma and just waited, "This is it, Crown Clown. Our last stand. Let's make it a good one, eh?"

* * *

_**Mizu: *dancing around happily* I know what I'm gonna do! I know what I'm gonna do!**_

_**Allen: Not make me die? *looks at Mizu with puppy eyes***_

_**Mizu: No, you're gonna die. There's no getting around it.**_

_**Allen: damn…**_

_**Mizu: Anyways, sorry for such a late chapter but school's been so busy. So many papers! I learnt how it felt like being a scientist under Komui. *shivers* Not. Fun.**_

_**Lavi: That's karma.**_

_**Lenalee: Definitely.**_

_**Mizu: Oh, hush you two! Remember, I love all reviews and suggestions! Seeing as that's it, let me say one last thing. I'll hopefully be finishing this story soon so I'm getting pretty pumped up. Ciao for now!**_


	21. Chp 20: Deadly Awakenings

_**Mizu: I know that this chapter is short. I thought that it was a good place to stop and give you guys the one thing that I've promised from the beginning. But don't worry, this story isn't over yet. There are many more chapters to come! It's just that…well, I guess I thought you guys needed a little time to soak what happens. Disclaimer: I don't own -Man. If I did, I would have created a Whack-A-Noah and a Whack-A-Leverrier game by now. Now, on to the story!**_

_**P.S. By the way, I kinda of over did Road's obsession with Allen. It works I suppose...**_

* * *

_**Chapter Twenty: Deadly Awakenings. **_

* * *

"You let him join the batttle!" Lavi shouted at Lenalee as they worked together to attack Lulubell.

"I didn't have much choice, Lavi!" Lenalee shouted back, barely dodging Lulubell's whip, "And is this really the best time to be arguing about it?"

"This is the perfect time!" Lavi snapped, "When else would we argue about it!"

"How about when we aren't fighting a Noah!" Lenalee snapped, kicking Lulubell in her chest.

"Damn exorcists!" Lulubell cursed, trying to hit Lenalee again when Lavi's fire seal landed above her.

"There," Lavi smirked as he watched a charred Lulubell stagger backwards.

"Damn you fools," Lulubell cursed, a gate to the Noah's ark opening behind her.

"Lavi," Lenalee sighed, as Lulubell disappeared, "Allen said something that made me think."

"What was it?" Lavi asked, placing the top of his hammer on the ground.

"We aren't humans," Lenalee whispered, wrapping her arms around herself, "When he said that...everything just seemed to lock into place."

"About how we seem our happiest as we destroy the akuma?" Lavi questioned, sighing, "Yeah, I guess it would be a hard reality to grasp if you've never looked at it that way."

"It makes us seem no better than the akuma," Lenalee whimpered.

"Cause we aren't," Lavi sighed, looking at Lenalee sternly, "I think what Allen was trying to tell you was how similar we are to the things we love to destroy."

"Wha?" Lenalee blinked.

"All the akuma are are pawns for the Earl to use for his master plan," Lavi stated, "Same goes for the Noah that he keeps so close to him."

"B-But Lavi," Lenalee started to say.

"It's the same with us. All of the people that work for the Order are like akuma. All of the finders, the scientists, everyone," Lavi continued, staring up where he saw Allen standing on a level 3 akuma, "We exorcists are no different than the Noah. The Order is the Earl and we are its right hand people."

Lavi smiled weakly as he looked at Lenalee, "We are just pawns for this damnable war."

Lenalee let out a slow breath before smiling back at Lavi, "Well, saying it like that would make anything sound depressing."

"It's what Allen wanted you to see, Lenalee," Lavi chuckled, "If he hadn't wanted to tell you something, I don't think that he would have stuck around to talk. We both know there wouldn't have been anyway that you could stop him."

"I know," Lenalee sighed, looking up at Allen, "But why did he want me to know that?"

"He wants us to be free," a voice behind them sounded.

"Nii-san?" Lenalee jumped as she turned to see her brother.

Komui, along with several scientists, slowly walked up to the two exorcists with tears in his eyes. All of their eyes, other than Komui's, were locked with how tall Allen seemed as he stood on the akuma's head. They had never imagined that the frail, young man could ever seem so big.

"Allen wants us to make our own choices, Lenalee," Komui whimpered, tears streaming down his face, "He wants us all to have the one thing that he will never have. The one thing he probably never had."

"Chief," Lavi whimpered, looking back up at Allen, "Why did Allen have to be the one that had to live this life? Why couldn't it have been someone else?"

"Because," Komui said, choking on his tears for a second, "H-He's God's Clown..."

Everyone was silent as they stared at Allen and his innocence in the sky. The cloak of the Crown Clown seemed to billow wildly behind the boy as he stared down the ark's gate. His left eye was fully activated as a smirk appeared on his childlike face. On back of his head was the locks of his pure white hair that spiked up due to the huge power that surged through his body.

"One hell of a clown at that," Lavi said after a long time of silence.

* * *

Allen smirked as he watched the gate slowly grow a bit. He knew what was going to come to pass. He ignored the fact that Road was floating on Lero next to the gate as if daring him to try something. No, Allen made sure to block the Noah out as he watched the gate. He could feel the blood pumping through him fill with adrenaline. His chest felt a if it was filled with excitement as his eyes stayed focus. This would be the greatest and final fight of his life.

"Good evening," Allen smirked darkly as he watched the oversized clown appear from the ark, "Earl."

"A good evening to you as well," the Earl spoke, voice alone sending shivers of anticipation up and down Allen's spine, "Allen Walker."

"It seems a bit strange to see you out and about in such a place," Allen smirked still, loving how his innocence was reacting by sending more powerful jolts through him.

"As it does for you as well," The Earl said, staring down Allen, "It seems as if you aren't in the best health, now does it?"

"It does not concern you," Allen said.

"I'm afraid I must disagree with you there," the Earl seemed to smirk.

"Ah, yes. That Noah, Neah, that lies within me is of you concern, correct?" Allen smirked darkly, not missing how the Earl seemed to flinch, "He is just fine, but like myself, is dying."

"What a lying clown you are," the Earl chuckled.

"Today is the final day, Earl," Allen smirked, seeing how the Earl froze, "I die today."

Allen licked his smirking lips slowly as he drew a clawed finger across his throat, "and along for the ride will be the fourteenth."

Something snapped between the two. The Earl launched forward, sword suddenly appearing in his hand, towards Allen. Allen felt his smirk widen into a full grin as he jumped backwards off of the akuma's head. He quickly turned his left arm into his sword before using another akuma to thrust off of and back towards the Earl. Their swords clashed with a swords of bright sparks. While they pushed their swords together, Allen brought his face closer to the Earl's, grin still in place.

"You love him, don't you, Earl?" Allen taunted, "He's your best friend, isn't he? You don't want him to die, right?"

"Hush up, brat," the Earl growled warningly, throwing Allen backwards.

"Whoa!" Allen laughed, using the Clown Belt to latch onto a random akuma, "Easy there! Don't want to damage the goods anymore than they already are."

Allen couldn't help be laugh at how the Earl's eyes seemed to widen, "That's right, Earl. One wrong hit and I'm gone. And if you kill me, you'll never have your precious Neah by your side again!"

Maybe he was taking it too far with his prodding of the Earl but Allen didn't care. He knew what he was doing. He knew the only way to get an advantage on the Earl was to make him angry. As intimidating as he was when he was angry, Allen knew that the Earl was no different than he was. The Earl lost control of thinking things control when he was thoroughly pissed. Just like Allen did when the Earl confronted the exorcists inside of the ark. Allen lost all thought processes except the one that kept telling him to either get revenge or shut the Earl up. That's why he had to get the Earl so riled up. If he lost control of his mind, Allen knew that he would be able to defeat him. And the thing that made his words more poisonous was that he held the trump card. He held the Earl's precious Noah.

"What's the matter, Earl?" Allen laughed loudly, "Afraid of something?"

The Earl seemed to growl in response.

"I suppose its to be expected," Allen smirked, twisting his body to gain momentum and fling himself at the Earl, "But I have to wonder."

Their swords clashed once more in a shower of sparks. Again, Allen brought his face closer to the Earl's and smirked.

"What is it like to know the desperation of knowing you're going to lose? I've never felt it," Allen said, grin still in place as the Earl threw him down towards the earth.

Allen didn't even bother turning over. He just let himself fall and deactivate his innocence. Smiling up at the fuming Earl, Allen slowly closed his eyes and awaited whatever was to come.

"I think that now, however, I know what Master must have felt like," Allen said mostly to himself as he continued to fall, "This is gonna suck. Right, Crown Clown?"

One last powerful jolt coursed through his body as Allen took a deep breath. As he slowly released that breath, Allen opened his beautiful silver eyes to see the Earl's face. The smirk rejoined with his face as he felt a searing pain collide with his back. The smirk only disappeared as Allen felt his control leave his person only to be filled with a terrible pain ripping through him beginning from the middle of his back. He heard the screams of both his comrades and of a single Noah. He almost wished that he didn't have to make Ryan feel so guilty…

All things light quickly faded away to leave nothing but a blurring beginnings of the dark oblivion he was so familiar with.

"Allen!" Road screamed, racing to catch him before he collided with the earth.

Lero gasped as the weight of the exorcist landed on it. Road let out a huge sigh of relief before landing on the ground below. Sliding the boy off of her umbrella, Road felt tears starting to form in her eyes. Collasping to the ground, the female Noah started to cry, clinging to the body of Allen Walker. The body that no longer was breathing. The body who's bleeding had yet to stop. The body whose face held a satisfied smile. The body that was nearly lifeless. Nearly.

"Damn brat," a hoarse voice sounded, causing Road to jump.

The Noah looked down at the face of the boy she loved and gasped. The boy's perfect porcelain skin was rapidly changing to a charcoal in color. The stigma that all Noah had appeared on the boy's forehead. The boy's scar seemed to diminish immensely as the charcoal coloring filled his face. Then, slowly, the boy opened his eyes to reveal one golden orb and one demonic eye. And, almost instantaneously, a wide smirk filled the boy's face as Road dropped him and jumped away from him.

"Damn, he really did a number on his body, didn't he?" the boy stated, slowly standing up, "But I've got to say that I'm impressed. Allowing himself to be shot with an arrow of pure innocence is no small feat."

The boy looked over to where his comrades were running from, "Though, maybe he should have let his poor kid in on it."

* * *

The member of the Order froze as they watched their beloved comrade rise from the ground. Only, unlike every other time he had risen before, he was no longer who they believed him to be.

"Still, the boy certainly was a strange one," the boy chuckled darkly, looking over at the group from the Order, "Though I'm certain you all knew that."

The boy just shrugged and stretched a bit, "Not only did he give up his left arm to save the worthless creatures of the Earl's, but he also gave his right arm to the weapon of God. What a dumb decision. He locked himself away to forever being used by all sorts of moronic idiots."

"A-Allen?" Lenalee stuttered.

"Plus for the fact that this damnable eye that he managed to receive bound him to those morals ever since he joined with that idiot Cross and I guess I could say that he's always been a prisoner," the boy sighed, rubbing the back of his head, "And at just a young age at that."

The boy placed his right hand over his face as a wide and deadly smirk appeared upon it, "It almost makes me wanna cry."

"Wh-Who are you?" K-Komui stuttered.

"Neah Walker," the boy smirked, "The boy's uncle, ironically."

Neah stretched again before he stuck out his tongue, "Bah. This body is so tiny. I swear, with all the boy ate, you'd figure he'd grow at least a little."

"Wh-Why are you-" Lavi stuttered.

"Why have I taken control over Walker?" Neah finished, "Simple. The boy is no longer in my way."

"H-He's d-dead?" Lenalee shouted, tears instantly in her eyes.

"Yes. Yes he is," the Noah laughed, "The boy honestly thought that he could hold me off until he passed. What a stupidly naïve boy he was."

"Sh-Shut up!" Lavi shouted at the newly awakened Noah.

"Easy there, tiger," the Noah laughed, "I'm on your side here."

"Eh?" the group blinked.

"Well…for the most part," Neah smirked, "I'm on your side enough to join forces and destroy the Earl."

"Why would you do that?" Kanda growled, "I always thought that the Noah hated all humans for being weaklings."

"True but," Neah smirked darkly, "I'm the Noah that should not exist."

Neah slowly walked up to the group, "I am the Fourteenth Noah, Neah Walker. Also known as the Musician, I have many special traits that the other Noah's do not. For one, while I have my own personal ability, that ability allows me to basically copy all of the other Noah's abilities."

All of the exorcists stood frozen as the smirking Noah continued to walk towards them, "Two. Unlike the rest of the Noah's, I don't follow any orders of the Millenium Earl. And three, even though I do hate humans for there sickening, fragile weakness-"

Neah reached the ground. Before any of them could blink, the Noah's arm shot passed them and grabbed one Tyki Mikk by the throat. Still smirking, the Musician brought Tyki eye to eye with him.

"-I find myself hating the other Noah and the akuma they cherish so much more than I ever have with humans," Neah finished, throwing Tyki into a nearby building, "They are such disgusting creatures."

* * *

**_Mizu: *Hiding in a Bomb/Komurin/Innocence proof bunker* Th-That's the end of this chapter!_**

**_All of Allen's family and friends: *attacking the bunker* Damn you, Mizu! _**

**_Mizu: I-I'm just gonna leave this as it is. Ciao for now! *explosion near entrance* EEP!_**


	22. Chp 21: Death's Tears

_**Mizu: …Not gonna say much. Just that while I was writing this chapter, I was crying mighty heavily so…yeah. Disclaimer: I don't own -Man. If I did, well, Leverrier would DIE! **_

* * *

Chapter Twenty-One: Death's Tears

* * *

"-I find myself hating the other Noah and the akuma they cherish so much more than I ever have with humans," Neah finished, throwing Tyki into a nearby building, "They are such disgusting creatures."

"B-Bastard," Tyki growled, coughing up some blood.

"Ah! He lives," Neah smirked, laughing at the fuming Noah, "What a stubborn fellow you are, Tyki Mikk."

"Shut up," Tyki growled, sinking down into the earth.

"Oh please!" Neah laughed loudly, "If you're going to fight-"

Neah jumped up just as Tyki came up under him before coming back down and resting his left hand upon Tyki's face, "try to at least make it interesting."

"Gah!" Tyki shouted, trying to pry off the fellow Noah's fingers.

"Finding it hard to faze through this hand?" Neah chuckled, "I'm not surprised seeing as this is a little souvenir I picked up from my nephew. His precious innocence filled arm."

"Tyki!" Road shouted, racing towards the two only to find herself flying backwards.

"I wouldn't come to close if I was you, Road-chan," Neah smirked, using Tyki's face as a springboard.

"Damn you," Tyki cursed, jumping after the Musician.

"You guys remember how I said my ability allows me to mimic?" Neah laughed, looking down at the Order members, "Well, watch carefully."

Suddenly, a mini gate of the Order's ark opened up behind Neah. He quickly passed through it only to reappear behind Tyki. With a few swift blows from the Noah's stolen arm, Tyki was lying out cold on the hard ground.

"It's just one of the many ways to use my wonderful ark," Neah said, smiling just like Allen would.

"Tyki!" Road shouted again, candles surrounding Neah instantly, "Damn you, you monster!"

"I'm a monster?" Neah chuckled, looking sadly at Road, "Such a shame. I was really hoping not to hurt you after all, Road-chan. Oh well."

Neah lift his index finger up. Road glared at the traitorous Noah before sending all of the candles rocketing towards him. She know longer thought of the Noah's body as Allen's. Allen was dead. He wouldn't feel the pain that Neah was about to fe-

Neah flicked his finger slightly. Instantly, his entire person was surrounded by gates, sending the candles passing through them harmlessly. Then, as quick as they appeared, the gates vanished, leaving nothing but a smirking Neah and gaping exorcists.

"What a shame. I was going to teach Allen that trick before he passed on too," Neah sighed, "Now I've gone and depressed myself."

"B-Bastard!" Road shouted, trying to drag Neah into her inner mind of worlds.

"Good trick," Neah stated, opening his palm towards Road, "Here's mine."

A gate appeared below Road, this one a little darker than all of the other gates had ever been. Road let out a startled scream before she fell through the gate. Once they could no longer see the spikes of the Noah's hair, Neah closed the gate.

"Wh-Where'd you send here?" Tyki spat, somehow regaining consciousness.

"Oh, so he still breathes," Neah said, pausing, "Deja vu. Anyways, I'm just giving her a taste of her own medicine."

"H-How are you doing that?" Lavi stuttered, not believing his eye.

"Easy," Neah smirked, "Control of the ark is my ability. It grants all of my wishes and desires. If I wish to travel somewhere, it takes me there. If I wish not to be hit with something, a gate appears in front of me and sends the object elsewhere. And say I want to torture someone…"

Neah reopened his palm to bring back the gate. This time it opened barely above the ground. After a moment of silence, Road Camelot fell out of the gate, unconscious and trembling.

"I just send them to one of the many rooms inside of the ark and let my imagination run wild on them," Neah laughed coldly, "See? Simple."

"F-fuck," Ryan shivered, hiding Jeniya behind him, "That's so cruel."

"Maybe," Neah shrugged, "But it does have it's drawbacks."

"Drawbacks?" Komui blinked.

"Of course. While it allows me to basically mimic all other Noah abilities, those abilities are diminished greatly," Neah stated, stretching again.

"Then how are you able to do what you are?" Lenalee asked.

"I'm not the only one controlling it right now," Neah stated, staring up at the sky.

"Wha-" the group gaped.

"Allen's helping me," Neah said, voice completely calm.

"B-But you said he was gone!" Lenalee and Jeniya snapped.

"I thought he was!" Neah laughed loudly, before becoming serious again, "but the boy is a stubborn one."

Neah walked over to the group, ignoring the cursing Tyki on the ground, "He's still hanging on."

"R-Really?" Lenalee asked, tears leaking from her eyes.

"Yeah but," Neah stopped and looked away, "He won't be able to for much longer."

"Huh?" the group blinked.

"He's using up the last of his strength, trying his damnest to make sure that you all get out of this alive," Neah said sadly, "He's focusing everything he has on protecting you guys."

"A-Allen," Lavi and Lenalee whimpered.

"He," Neah paused, looking at the group sadly, "He really did love you all."

Neah walked passed the ground, ignoring the looks that held tears, "I never before regretted anything. Not when I first awoke as a Noah. Not when I betrayed the Earl and killed most of the Noah. Not when Mana and I ran away from it all. Never have I ever felt the pain of regret. The emotion has no place in a Noah.

"And yet," Neah said, hand gasping at his chest, "I feel as if I'm weighed down with the very emotion that I should not possess. I regret doing all of this to my nephew. This feeling makes me want to believe that if I could have, I would have done something differently, just for his sake. That if I could have done so, I would have never hurt the boy. I would have never stolen him away from the akuma that was sent to kill him, giving him to a circus instead of back to my brother."

"You were the reason that he didn't know his parents?" the group gasped.

"Barely," Neah scoffed, "It was still all the fault of the Earl-"

"Because he knew that Allen was your nephew!" Lenalee snapped, "He thought that he could lure you out if he threatened him!"

"Well, I suppose then he was right because I did go after that akuma and destroy it," Neah stated, scratching the back of his head.

"Why didn't you give him back?" Jeniya asked.

"Mana said that the Earl would just keep targeting the boy if we left him with our brother and his wife. That would put them in danger as well," Neah explained, "Mana told me that we would look for Allen after we settled everything with the Earl. So we gave him up to a circus that we knew would be easy to find later one."

"B-But Mana didn't take him back after he found him!" Lenalee snapped.

"Because Mana no longer cared about that," Neah said, sorrow flowing freely through his voice, "He was destroyed by my "passing" that he forgotten the promise we both made to Allen. After I passed my memories on to Allen, Mana kept him by his side and raised him like a son…no, not a son. He raised him like a little brother. Because that's probably why he kept Allen so close. He thought I would come back to him soon and didn't want to miss it…

Neah looked up to the sky and sighed, "That…That is probably what I regret most. I stole my own nephew's family, freedom, and life. What kind of uncle does that make me?"

"Wh-Why are you telling all of this to us now?" Lavi asked, trembling as he felt a terrifying aura come down on them all.

"Because," Neah said, eyes locked on the fat man in the sky, "I wanted you guys to understand why I have to be the one to fight the Earl now. This is all to repent for the wrongs I've done to my nephew. I will rid the world of the Earl so that his soul may rest in peace."

Then, the Noah no longer stood there on the ground in front of them. All of the heads flew upward to see the Earl raise his sword just in time to deflect a giant purple circle that flew out of a white gateway. Gulping, some of the members of the group linked hands. Most felt tears fall out of their eyes. After all they had done to try to help their beloved fallen friend, this was a horrid wake up call. They could do nothing. Nothing but watch.

* * *

"This is such a pleasure, Neah!" the Earl half sang as another purple orb flew towards him, "You've come out of hiding!"

Only silence came to answer the Earl as Neah tried to attack the Earl's back.

"I must say," the Earl said, trying to blast the fourteenth out of the sky, "I am quite surprised at you."

"Why's that?" Neah chuckled bitterly, sticking his head out of a gateway.

"You haven't begun to use Jasdebi's abiliti-" the Earl stated to laugh until he was hit with a flaming red dragon like creature that flew out from a gateway, "A damnable relative you are."

"Why thank you," Neah smirked, jumping upon a level two akuma.

The two stared at each other for a moment before the Earl spoke up, "You've grown a bit rusty haven't you?"

"I could say the same to you as well," Neah stated, raising an open palm to the sky, "However, your previous actions to winning this will be your undoing today, Earl."

"What ever do you mean? I haven't fought you before toda-" the Earl started to laugh until he spotted Neah's dark smirk.

"For all your years, you seemed to be ever so forgetful about one detail of me," Neah said, feeling a dark aura, different than his own, fill him.

The Earl watched, frozen, as a gate to his own ark opened above Neah. Neah felt like letting out a dark laugh at the face that appeared on the Earl. He could feel the dark aura that filled him rush around rapidly. It was filled with such darkness but yet, it had a sense of joyful innocence to it.

'You know what I'm doing, right?' Neah thought, enjoying the feeling for a moment, 'Allen? Are you cheering me one with your own dark half? Is this the thing that you have wished for for so long?'

"Why are you siding with the innocence, Neah?" the Earl asked, a bit of a nervous tremor in his voice.

"…I didn't know until recently," Neah said cooly, "But I do now."

Neah felt Allen's darker half's aura spill out from him and let out a short laugh, "This is for my precious little nephew!"

"You're nephew?" the Earl snorted, "The brat who's never been able to figure out what he truly wants? The brat that has only ever gotten in the way of his so called "comrades"? Why would a man, a Noah, such as yourself do such a thing?"

"Because," Neah paused, smiling a bit, "I made him and several others a promise. And I plan to carry that promise out if it kills me."

"Such a shame," the Earl sighed, "I wanted to spare you but-"

"You are the shame, Earl," Neah nearly growled, "It is time that the Earth is rid of you."

Neah closed his opened hand, clenching it so hard that his nails began to cut into his skin. The gateway above his head suddenly appeared to be cracking. The Earl froze yet again, eye's flickering as he watched from a distance.

"You seemed to have forgotten that I am the fourteenth Noah. The control of the ark is my primary ability," Neah smirked darkly as a piece of dark purple fell off of the gate, "When you downloaded this new ark, you forgot to change how it is control. Should you have done that, then perhaps I may not have been able to do this."

More pieces of dark purple fell to the earth below. As they fell, they left a shimmering gate of light purple above Neah. The two Noah on the ground awoke and began screaming at Neah, pleading with him to cease his actions. The fourteenth could feel the astonished stares of the order upon him and felt pride fill his heart.

"You thought that by creating a new ark, you'd be free from my curse, didn't you?" Neah smirked, tilting his head to the side as the last piece of dark purple fell off of the gate, "What an idiot you are, Earl. A true, blue idiot."

Before he knew what was happening, the Earl was rushing towards him at full power. Neah quickly ducked into the gateway and made sure to close it just as the Earl passed through it. Opening a few other's that led to different placing at the spot he had just been, Neah paused to catch his breath.

"Not good…" Neah cursed, gritting his teeth, hand clutching at his heart, "Don't die on me yet, boy. The second you die is the second your innocence will start attacking me."

'I-I know that,' Allen's voice echoed through his head.

"I still want to know how you got your innocence to agree to all of this," Neah chuckled.

'It wants to end the war, remember?' Allen said, voice a little weaker than before.

"Hey! What did I say? You can't die yet!" Neah shouted, "If you die, whether it wants to or not, your innocence will start to kill me!"

'I can't help the fact that I'm a parasitic type wielder!' Allen shouted back at Neah.

"I know, I know," Neah sighed, "I'm just starting to get a little worried here."

'You're not the only one,' Allen said, 'His anger is so unreal…'

"That's what we get for messing with his head," Neah smirked, "But it is fun."

'For you maybe,' Allen scoffed, 'It's not fun for the person playing bystander!'

"Hey, don't be getting so mad at me," Neah growled, "I'm not the one that came up with this idea. How'd you even know that those idiots would be out at the fair today?"

'Lucky guess, I suppose,' Allen snickered.

"…You figured that Tyki would go to the gambling halls, dragging at least one of the others with him, right?" Neah whispered.

'Maybe~!' Allen half sang, quieting down, 'Someone's coming.'

"I know," Neah said, turning to see Leverrier and Link standing behind him, "Leverrier, the rat faced bastard, and my favorite stalker, Link. What a surprise to see you here."

"W-Walker?" Link stuttered, not believing his eyes.

"Not quite," Neah said, slowly opening the gate back out to the fight, "He's not really here anymore."

"Halt! By Order of the Church, I am here to place you under arrest for investigation for crimes against man!" Leverrier shouted, rushing up to grab the Noah.

Neah just stepped out of his way, letting Leverrier step out into the field, smirking, "Oops~!"

The Noah quickly walked out back through the gateway and looked up at the Earl. The fat man was currently sending a fury of flying orbs through one of his gateways.

"Where did that one go to again?" Neah thought aloud as his brows furrowed together, "Oh well. Not important."

Neah gave one last look towards Leverrier before jumping up towards the Earl, "I'd just still quietly, if I was you."

"Wha?" Leverrier gaped, beginning to shake in fear.

"Hm?" Neah voiced, finally turning his head up towards the Earl only to see a blinding ray of light racing passed him, "Shit!"

He tried to open a gateway below that despicable man but was too late. Leverrier let out a final scream of anguish as the light punctured him through his heart. As the light left his eyes, the Central agent locked his vision on the yelling Noah's face. Cursing, Leverrier finally felt the weight of all his actions land on him. For when he saw the Noah that he hated so much racing to his side, he saw the exorcist that he had done nothing but wrongs to. A few tears fell from his eyes, tears he never knew he even possessed.

"W-Walker…I-I…I regret…" Leverrier said weakly, hand gripping at the Noah's shirt, "n-nothing…"

Neah, who had been cradling the man's head, scowled and dropped him instantly. He felt a familiar anger begin to boil inside of him and sighed.

"Easy, boy," Neah sighed, not understanding the workings of his nephew's mind, "He was just a fool who thought he knew it all. He has just received his just deserts."

'Even so,' Allen growled inside the Noah's mind, startling him, 'Even so…He didn't deserve to die like that! He didn't have to die!'

Neah blinked in confusion for a second before shaking his head at his nephew's utter nonsense, "I was not incorrect in calling you such a strange child. Loving even those who do nothing but hurt you. What a horribly painful love…

"Fine," Neah sighed, smirking as he set his eyes upon the Earl once more, "We'll avenge this man's death, along with all of the others who have fallen before him."

"Walker!" Link shouted behind them.

"I already told you," Neah said, not turning to see the Crow, "The boy is no more."

"Please! Just let me speak!" Link pleaded with the Noah, "Don't try to be a hero!"

Neah chuckled, turning a little to see the blonde's face, "Do you really think that saying that would stop the boy? He's got such an enormous hero complex. He keeps the world on his shoulders at all times of the day."

"B-But," Link stuttered, staring at his dead boss, "He shouldn't carry the lives of a man like this on him!"

"And yet he does," Neah chuckled again, "It's just the way he is."

"Link!" Lenalee shouted as their group ran up to where the blonde stood.

"Leverrier!" Komui gasped, spotting the dead man's body.

Neah rolled his shoulders and popped his neck before turning to the whole group, "I suppose this is where we all separate for good."

"Wha?" most blinked.

"Timcampy," Neah called, as the orb flew down in front of him, "Did you bring it?"

The orb slowly nodded before opening his mouth to reveal Allen's wish log.

"Th-that's!" Lavi shouted.

"I want someone to come and find this after all the fighting is done and over," Neah said, voice slowly changing into one they all knew.

'Are you sure about this?' Neah asked inside his mind.

'Yes,' Allen answered back, voice sounding strained, 'This is the only way.'

'But you'll-' Neah stopped himself and smiled, 'Alright. I get it.'

"What's going on?" Kanda snapped as Neah's charcoal like skin began to recede, leaving behind the porcelain skin they all knew so well.

"A-Allen!" Lenalee and Lavi shouted as they watched the boy's eyes open to reveal the kind silver orbs that they all cherished.

"Yo~!" Allen greeted, smile firmly in place as the stigma disappeared from his face.

"Wh-Why'd you let Neah take over your body?" Lavi asked.

"One, I was really tired and couldn't hold him back anymore," Allen stated, looking over to where the two Noah laid, "And two, I knew that I wouldn't be able to take those two out or get the Earl into the position I needed him to be in in my condition. So by letting myself rest and letting Neah have a go at it all seemed logical. Anyways, I have a favor to ask of you all."

"Wh-What is it?" Lenalee asked, happy that the boy she loved was alive.

"I want you guys to make sure to take my body home with you," Allen said sadly, slowly regaining control over his body.

"Y-Your…" Komui shuddered.

"b-body?" Lavi finished, gulping.

Allen just nodded, and winced as he took a step, "That hole ordeal taken so much out of me…"

"Allen! Don't go!" Lenalee screamed, rushing forward and grabbing the boy's arm, "We'll help you fight the Earl! Just don't go out there by yourself!"

"No can do, Lenalee," Allen smiled warmly at the girl, "This is what I've got to do."

"But you're going to die!" Lavi shouted.

"I know," Allen shrugged, "I've known from the beginning that I was dying."

"H-Huh?" everyone but Kanda blinked.

"When I got lost on my birthday, I ran into Kanda. He explained everything to me," Allen stated, smiling happily, "And I am extremely thankful that he did."

"w-we," Komui stuttered, "we th-thought that it would be for the best if you d-didn't know…"

"That might have been better but I'm still glad nevertheless," Allen said, smile still on his face.

"Then why are you doing this!" Ryan shouted, "I thought you promised Jeniya you would always be by her side! Why are you breaking that promise!"

Allen just kept smiling as the young girl stepped out from the group of people. Jeniya slowly walked up to her papa, tears in her eyes, and wrapped her arms around him. Allen's smile stayed intact as he knelt down and took his adopted daughter into his arms.

"I won't be scared of rain anymore, Papa," Jeniya whimpered into the teen's chest, "I'll smile and think, 'This is my papa. He's watching me and is so happy for how I'm growing up.'"

"Good," Allen said, petting the girl's hair, sensing the Earl above them.

"I'll grow up to be a strong woman. I'll grow up and become a daughter that you can be proud of," Jeniya said, crying more into his chest.

Everyone let out a scream as the Earl shot an attack down towards the group. But before it hit them, however, several gateways opened up around them, sending the attack flying through them.

"That's my girl," Allen smiled, tears slowly leaking out of his eyes, "Now, can you promise me something?"

"An-Anything," Jeniya hiccupped.

"Become a woman that, when I look over you from heaven, I will cry tears of happiness," Allen said, more tears sliding out from his eyes, "I love you, my little Jeniya."

"I love you too, Papa," Jeniya cried out, clinging to him for dear life.

"Ryan," Allen said, looking over to where his adopted son stood, "Take care of your sister. Become a strong man who loves those around him but can stand up for everything he believes in. Don't become a man like me."

Ryan's mouth opened and closed a few times before his legs pushed him forward, wrapping his arms around his father. Allen smiled as he wrapped his arms around the boy. No one paid any mind to the constant barrage of attacks from the Earl. The only thing that everyone notice was the tears that fell out of everyone else's eyes.

"I promise I will become a good man!" Ryan cried, clinging to his father and sister.

"Good boy," Allen whispered, holding the two close, "Be sure to listen to your elders at the Order until it disbands, alright?"

"R-Right," the two children nodded.

"Lenalee? Komui?" Allen questioned, looking up to the Chinese siblings, "May I ask a favor of you guys?"

The two just nodded, no longer trusting their voices.

"I want you two to be the ones to raise Jeniya and Ryan after I'm…well, you know," Allen said, a gentle smile on his lips.

"O-Of course, Allen," Lenalee whimpered, biting her lip.

"Thank you," Allen said softly, looking over at the head of red, "Lavi…"

"Wh-What?" Lavi swallowed, trying to forget that he was only a bookman.

"I know that you are the apprentice of Bookman but still," Allen smiled happily at the redhead, "Thank you for being my big brother."

Lavi felt something inside of him snap as tears cascaded down his cheeks, "I-I'll m-make sure that there is a-a s-separate chapter in the r-r-records just for you b-buddy…"

Allen just laughed lightly as he looked to Link, "I really hope you don't hate me for Leverrier's death, Link. I have to admit, even though you were so bloody annoying at first, I'm extremely glad I met you."

Link just nodded his head, fighting his own tears.

"Kanda," Allen said, pausing before smirking towards the older teen, "You will always be my stupid, cruel, brash big brother, Ba-Kan-da!"

"F-Fuck you, M-Moyashi!" Kanda snapped at the boy.

Allen laughed loudly, "Tears don't be suit you, BaKanda. Try not to die in this war after I'm gone."

"Che," Kanda scoffed, tears sliding off his cheeks, "I-I'm not w-weak like you, M-Moyashi."

"I know, BaKanda," Allen smiled, slowly standing up and letting go of the two kids, "I've got to go now."

Allen tucked his wish log into his right chest pocket and smiled at them all, "Remember, come and get this when it's done."

The gates lowered only long enough for Allen to jump through. Everyone finally let their sorrow grab hold of them as each fell to their knees and cried openly. They really couldn't do anything for him. He still did everything for them.

* * *

"Let's finish this Earl!" Allen shouted, activating his innocence for the last time.

'This is it, Crown Clown,' Allen thought, sending a large blast of energy out of his sword and towards the Earl, 'We're gonna finish this.'

'Remember,' Neah's voice sounded in his head, 'While you're fighting the Earl, you can't keep the gateways open for very long. My powers and your innocence's don't like to coincide very well.'

"Right!" Allen shouted, bringing his sword down onto the Earl's back.

The Earl let out a slight howl of pain before spinning around and trying to hit Allen. Allen, ever grateful that he was trained as a acrobatic clown, gracefully dodged the blunt of the attack. His left leg, however, was still caught on the side. Landing rather sloppily atop yet another akuma's head, Allen cursed at the wound.

"That's gonna make jumping a bit difficult now," Allen growled, glaring at fat man.

'Sorry guys,' Allen thought, looking down at the gates that protected his friend, 'I can't keep those up to protect you and fight.'

With a simple flick of his finger, the gates disappeared. Allen hated doing it, but he had to. He knew that they could protect themselves from the Earl's attacks. However, it was what they would see that Allen wanted to protect them from.

Allen suddenly found himself flying through the air, being pushed back and forth between the Earl's attacks and a level four's. Biting down on his lip, Allen squeezed his eyes shut as he threw his sword towards the Earl. The sword nearly missed the Earl by millimeters. The leader of the Noah grabbed the sword just as the hilt started passed him. He flung it down to earth, embedding it into the ground in front of Allen's comrades. The Earl let out a horrible laugh as Allen found himself being used in a game of catch between the Earl and his highest ranking akuma minion.

The cursed teen let out a strangle yelp when the Earl's fingers wrapped around his tiny throat. With his innocence still activated, Allen brought his right hand up to grasp at the fat Earl's arm. Tugging with all of his might, the white-haired teen soon found the grip around his neck tightening. Struggling to breath, Allen tried his hand at kicking the Earl. However, in his state, the only thing that he was able to do was scuffing up the Earl's coat. Growling in frustration, Allen glared at the despicable man holding onto him. "What a thorn in my side you have been, Allen Walker," the Earl smirked, tightening his grip earning himself a refreshing yelp of pain from his captive, "It's time to finally weed you out-"

The Earl was cut short when Allen's sword suddenly stabbed through its master and into him. Golden eyes shook as they locked onto the dark smirk that rested upon Allen's face. The boy's body convulsed in pain as his innocence's power collided with the Noah's the laid within him. The exorcist slowly raised his right hand up to the Earl's cheek as the Earl released his hold on his neck. The cursed teen brought his face closer to the Earl's own, smirk still on his face.

"Good…Night," Allen whispered, eyes losing all light but never leaving the Earl's as a smile replaced the smirk.

Both of those impaled upon the exorcising blade let out a blood curdling scream as the innocence poured through them. Hearing the screams of his comrades below them, Allen bit down on his lip to silence himself. As his innocence poured its power into the Earl, it quickly took to using up what remained of his life force and changing it into more power. Focusing on all of his will, Allen made sure that his uncle, the damn Noah that he was, would not reappear as he listened to the screams of the Earl. Forcing as much of the power from his innocence into the horrid fat earl, the cursed exorcist insured that the bastard would not be able to move. Taking in the pained face of his enemy, Allen let his eyes close as he enjoyed the sound of the devil's cries.

'The music of the war,' Allen thought as his ears dimly brought the screams of Tyki and Road to his attention.

He felt his sword being tugged backward, pulling it out of the Earl as Tyki shouted out for the Earl. Not even bothering with opening his eyes, Allen let his innocence deactivate. He could feel himself falling down to the earth but didn't care. He did his part. A strange sense of happiness and freedom filled him.

'H-He's not dead but,' Allen thought, finally opening his eyes to see the two Noah fly off with the Earl on their shoulders, 'Most of his power has been severed from him. He is no longer such a threat.'

As his back collided with the ground, Allen could still feel the smile upon his face as a pained yelp still somehow escaped him. His vision became fuzzy as he watched the onset of the dark clouds above him. The smile remained as he felt the first drops of rain hit his face. The smile that he had used for years on end never left his face. But the mask he wore did.

'It finally cracked,' Allen thought, hearing his comrades' cries for him to respond, 'What a time for it to finally crack on me.'

The rain began to fall upon him faster and, as a few drops ran down his cheek, Allen couldn't help but wonder why he was crying.

'Is it Mana? Does he cry because his little brothers are coming home to him?' Allen thought, pulling out his wish log, 'Will I be welcomed with warm arms opened wide like I was here at the Order?'

As he opened the book to the page he wrote on his wishes on, Allen wished that he had more time to fill the book up with everything he wanted.

'I really don't want to leave these guys. Knowing Komui, he'll torment them all with Komurins and strange potions. Lenalee will continue with coffee runs and trying to control her brother. Lavi will probably try to become a Bookman a little longer before giving up to living a life with the Order and sleeping in the library. Krory and Miranda will still be their paranoid klutzes, though I think Miranda will have Marie to stand by her. Jerry will make huge feasts for everyone when they come home to the Order.

'Jeniya and Ryan will grow up to be fine adults, much stronger and kinder than I could ever hope to be. And Kanda…Kanda will be his BaKanda self and try to act all cold and cool while actually caring deep down in side. Though that scowl will forever be placed on his face,' Allen thought as he wrote in the little book, 'I really wish I could stay and watch all of that but I can't.'

Allen's vision somehow managed to catch a glimpse of something golden that flew over head, 'Ah. Timcampy's found me. Won't be long now till they find me.'

'This is it, huh?' Neah sighed, relinquishing himself to death, 'Kind of sucks, right?'

'I can't be bring myself to be upset at any of this,' Allen thought, hearing their cries get closer and closer, 'I had a really good run at life. I've had a loving family that loves me and I've even found a lot of friends that I could laugh with. So what if I had to fight in a war that took my life? It was because of that war that I was able to find all of these people. My life…has been extremely…good…'

'Whatever,' Neah said, voice fading away, 'Guess I'll be leaving now. See ya around, boy.'

'You won't be there long before I get there,' Allen thought in response.

Allen felt a slight pulse of power that filled him and echoed through the crystal in his heart, 'Time to say goodbye, Crown Clown. Thank you for choosing me, a worthless orphan and Noah host, to be your accommodator. Too bad I couldn't help you completely destroy the Earl but I know that you'll find someone even better than me to do that job.'

'Goodbye,' Allen thought, hearing Lenalee's voice the clearest and closest to him, his vision finally leaving him as his heart slowed to a stop, 'to all those that I love.'

* * *

"There he is!" Lenalee cried, racing to the body of her love, "Allen!"

"Thank goodness!" Komui shouted, trying his best not to slip in the ran.

"Lenalee! I-Is he!" Lavi called, carrying a crying Jeniya on his back.

Lenalee just looked over to the rest of the group and nodded, tears falling out of her eyes like a cascading waterfall. Lavi bit down on his lip to prevent his sob from breaking out. No wasn't the time to cry. Not when the ones around him needed his strength. Later, Lavi promised himself, later he would cry out in sorrow and pain to the few of his choice.

"Papa," Jeniya whimpered as Lavi set her down.

Ryan came up beside his sister and linked his hand with hers. Neither said anything. They just let their tears roll out of their eyes, bodies being racked with silent sobs. They wouldn't cry out. No, their papa didn't want that. He wanted them to be strong.

"H-His e-eyes are st-still open," Komui stuttered, trying not to break around his beloved sister.

Kanda slowly approached the Moyashi's body. Swallowing the lump that filled his throat, the stoic samurai knelt down beside the deceased exorcist's body. He lifted his hand up towards the boy's face and found himself fighting not to cry. He allowed his hand to shake but he would not cry. No more tears were allowed to be shed.

"G-Goodnight," Kanda said, voice cracking due to his restraint on his sorrow as he slowly ran his hand over the teen's eyes, shutting them for the final time, "R-Rest in p-peace, M-Moyashi."

"R-Rest in p-peace, Sir Walker," the scientists behind them repeated.

"R-Rest in p-peace, Allen," Lenalee and Lavi whimpered, hearing the two kids whisper the same to their papa.

There was a moment of complete silence while everyone took it all in. Finally, Jeniya spoke up.

"P-Papa's crying f-for h-happiness," Jeniya whimpered as the rain continued to downpour, "H-He's crying for us in h-happiness. W-We're all s-safe…h-he's h-happy."

Everyone slowly nodded, tears mixing in with the rain as they all stared at the smile upon their beloved exorcist's lips. They watched as the rain rolled down his cheeks starting from his eyes, making it appear as if he truly were crying. After several moments of nothing but the falling rain to sound, Ryan took a deep, shuttering breath.

"Wh-Where's h-his w-wish log?" Ryan asked, trying not to break.

"P-Pocket," L-Lenalee pointed.

Lavi slowly took the log into his hand and read whatever Allen had written in it. His emerald green eye widened as the dam that held back his tears broke. His hands shook as his lips opened to let out a small cry before the book fell through his fingers. It landed open for all to see. There, written in his very blood, was Allen final wish.

_17. I wish for everyone to keep walking on,_

_Hold their heads up high,_

_Believe in their dreams, hearts, and wishes,_

_And most of all, at least not over me, I wish that you all don't cry…_

Komui read what the page said and felt his tears explode out for the world to see. He fell to his knees, hands shooting up to his face, trying to stop the floods of tears that were escaping. Everyone followed suit. Their sorrow was not only for the fact of losing the one they all loved. It was joined with the fact that no matter how much they wanted to, no matter how hard they all tried, there was no way to grant the teen's last wish. There was no way to stop the tears…

* * *

_**Lenalee: *still crying* Wh-where is she!**_

_**Lavi: *fighting his tears* Show yourself, Mizu!**_

_**Jeniya: *crying* H-here's a n-note…**_

_**Komui: *forcing back his tears and takes the note* To those that are reading this. If you found this note, then that means I am no longer here. I have fled to Canada until you lot have calmed down. Please take care of Timcampy in my absence. He tends to devour my computer chairs if he isn't played with. Oh, and remember that I enjoy all reviews and suggestions. Ciao for now!**_

_**3...2...1...**_

_**Everyone: That coward!**_


	23. Chp 22: The Night Before His Death

_**Mizu: Sorry for such a long wait between chapters! I have had a lot of stuff that's I've had to deal with first. Like literally graduating high school this past week! So, yeah, woot~! There's one problem gone! Yay! **_

_**Now, to address a few things:**_

_**1. There will only be one more chapter after this one. That's it. No more than that, k?**_

_**2. There will be no sequel to this story as of right now. I'm wrapping up hopefully all loose ends with the final chapter. This story deserves a good ending not another beginning (at least that's what I'm trying to tell myself).**_

_**3. IF I do decide to write any sort of story relating to this fic, then it will most likely be a collection of one-shots under one title. And if I do decide to do a sequel to this story, then it will not be very long. Maybe three chapters at most IF I do write one.**_

_**4. If you want to write some sort of story based off of this one, **__**please**__** wait until after I finish with my final chapter. And even after that, I would really appreciate it if you guys PM me about it and tell me what your story idea is. I'm sorry, but this story is like my baby. I'm VERY protective of it. **_

_**K…I think that that's it. Sorry for the rambling intro and such a short chapter. I really wanted this chapter to be longer but I just couldn't get it to make as much sense longer. This whole chapter is basically one huge flashback through the years after Allen's death back to the night before he and Lenalee went on their date. **_

* * *

All had been silent after that day. After Lavi and Kanda carried their younger brother's body back to the Order, nothing was the same. No one person was unaffected. Many of the exorcists took mission on with more care for others as well as themselves. Even the stoic Kanda. All of the white-haired exorcist's closest friends truly came together to form as close family. They all worked together on everything. None of them were left alone in their grieving. They stood by each other through everything. None were sent out on individual missions anymore. None had to fight alone. None ever felt as if they weren't human.

They always went out of their ways to make each other smile. After some time, even Lenalee learned how to go on. It took a few years but she was able to. Lavi gave up his life as a bookman. He couldn't bare the fact that his younger brother was dead. So to cope, he gave up his title as apprentice and all forty-eight of his previous identities. Kanda started paying attention to how much life he had left. Everyone else took care of one another. Even Komui changed a little. He finally let the one person that was able to comfort Lenalee during her grief to take her hand in marriage. Though…Reever had to frisk him for any sort of weapon before he could enter the wedding.

Whenever someone knew came to the Order, there was no giant welcome party for the ones that would have normally done so before didn't have the spirit behind it anymore. Instead, they brought the newcomer down to Allen's old room and told stories of him. They would spend a full day telling of how great he was and all the pain he had to go through. They would watch the eyes of the person widen when they asked why he fought so hard. Those eyes would always widen in shock before narrowing in sorrow. For the answer that they always gave to them was that Allen didn't know any different. He was a boy lost to the war before he could even walk. His entire life was to fight for both humans and akuma because he loved both. He saw nothing different between the two, especially after everything he had been through. He honestly believed that he was not human. He was just an exorcist.

There were a few that took the stories worse than others. Like Allen's biological family. That's right. The entire family finally caved in and went to the Order so that his younger sisters' gifts could help with the war. When they had arrived, they had hoped to see their dear lost son but all who had been there just hung their heads down. Lavi and Lenalee led the family down to Allen's room and did exactly what they had done with many others had before. They told of the family's lost member. They didn't think that anybody had ever cried harder.

The stories that they told each and every person that joined the Order was a way to ensure that no one would ever have to go through that again. By telling what Allen had down from the Order, nobody ever tried to do what he did. They couldn't. Not after seeing the tears streak down the cheeks of the cursed exorcist's family. They didn't want anyone to ever have to feel what they felt. So they didn't try to be heroes like Allen Walker.

As time passed and the war continued, although it was clear that the exorcists would win. As months changed into years, there was still a few questions left in everyone's minds. Why did Allen do it? How did he know? How did he know that the Noah within him wouldn't go crazy? Why did he have to go through all of that?

* * *

_Chapter Twenty-Two: The Night Before His Death_

* * *

Allen laid still on his bed trying to fight off sleep. He was too afraid, that if he slept now, he would pass on in his sleep. He had woken up not long after Ryan and Jeniya had returned with his dinner. Jeniya had squealed the second his silver eyes flickered open. Slowly, she had crawled onto the bed and his lap as Ryan readjusted the bed so that he was in a strange sitting like position. They stayed with him for hours, telling of how everyday life at the Order was treating. Allen even found the strength to smile at the kids.

When the nurse came in to shoo the kids out, Allen managed to squeak out that he wanted a mirror set up beside his bed. The nurse looked at him strangely but did as he requested. Allen gave her the best thank you smile he could before letting his eyes slide shut for a moment. What felt like only moments had been hours before he slowly opened his eyes again. Cursing, Allen let out a long sigh, feeling exhaustion fill everyone muscle, every tendon, every bone in his body. After a few moments, he looked over to the mirror and glared.

The shadow that had haunted him for so long seemed to just float there. It still held the same wickedly sickening smile that Allen had grown to hate. Although, this time, the shadow appeared with an actual body. His body to be exact. It sat beside him on the bed and just watched him.

"I hate you," Allen whispered, so softly he knew no human would hear.

"Ah, but I don't hate you," the shadow responded.

"So you can talk," Allen scoffed inside his mind.

"But of course I can talk," the shadow laughed, "It would be silly if I couldn't."

"It's silly that only I see you," Allen growled.

"Hold on, boy," the shadow sighed, "I know that you don't like me but at least try to get to know me before you pass judgment on me."

"I'm listening," Allen rolled his eyes.

"Look, yes I'm residing inside your body," the shadow spoke, "but that's because I needed someone that I could pass everything that makes me up onto. If I died, it would be at least thirty years before someone was reborn with my Noah. I needed someone sooner."

"So you picked me, right Neah?" Allen snarled.

"So you did learn of my name," Neah weakly smiled, his actual face appearing in the mirror, "Anyway, yes I did pick you. Not that I really wanted to. It was just that you were the closest person that I could find. My body just passed everything on without my consent. Do you really think I wanted lay all this on my poor nephew?"

"I was right about that too," Allen sighed.

"Yeah, Mana and I were your uncles," Neah sighed, "Sorry about all of this."

"So now you apologize!" Allen snapped, "After you've started to destroy my life! Take everything that I've known and loved and ripping it to shreds!"

"Calm down, kid," Neah said, "Look I'm sorry for all of this. This is all just the Noah's power. If I honestly had a choice, I wouldn't done any of this to you, Allen. But seeing as it is happening to you, I propose we strike up a deal-"

"Hell no," Allen growled, "I refuse to make any sort of deal with the likes of you."

"Awww~!" Neah whined, "Why not?"

"A.) You're still a Noah. B.) I'm an exorcist," Allen said, "and C.) I don't particularly want to become a Fallen."

"Oh! If that's all you're worried about, Crown Clown is willing to go through with my plan," Neah beamed.

"…Wha?" Allen blinked.

"Crown Clown and I communicate all the time seeing as we both reside within you. So we've been discussing this issue ever since your body started failing," Neah explained.

"…What kind of plan?" Allen asked cautiously.

"A plan to be rid of the Earl," Neah smirked.

"Well, obviously," Allen rolled his eyes.

"Don't get snippy with me, boy," Neah sighed, "Look, what if we could force the Earl out and start a fight with us?"

"Us?" Allen looked at the mirror incredulously.

"Yes, us," Neah said proudly, "You have to trust me on this one. You cannot fight the Earl without my assistance and even remotely hope to lay a single finger on him."

"…Let's say that I do decide to trust you," Allen growled, "How on this bloody planet do you think that I'll be able to get out to the battlefield let alone even stand up by myself."

Neah remained silent after that. He kept quiet, thinking of all possible ways of getting his host out to face their enemies. Meanwhile, Allen just let out a frustrated sigh and let himself close his eyes once more. He really didn't have any extra energy to be wasted on matters that no longer concerned him. He knew that his body wasn't up to any more battles. This was the last leg of his life's race. And it sucked so much.

'_So you're just giving up?'_ a warm voice sounded from inside of his mind.

Allen's eyes jolted open, immediately locking onto the still in deep thought Neah, "W-Wha?"

'_It's not the Noah, silly boy,'_ the voice chuckled, _'Try again.'_

Allen felt his adrenaline start to pump through his veins. He couldn't place the voice. He knew it wasn't Neah's and it definitely was not Mana's voice. The voice didn't sound like anything he had ever heard before. It wasn't a female's voice but it seemed to have that sort of tone at the same time. It was definitely a male's voice but it wasn't strong nor was it gruff, intimidating, or low. It was a very strange voice.

'_Give up?'_ the voice sounded as his left arm twitched a little.

Allen's eyes would have widened more if they weren't already so, 'C-Crown Clown?'

'_Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!' _the voice laughed inside his mind, _'Good. Now that you can hear me…'_

Allen let out a yelp of shock as a sudden tidal wave of powerful sensations used his nerves as their personal racetracks.

'_How dare you even think of giving up!'_ his innocence chastised him, _'I will not allow it! You've gone too far and tried too hard to just __**give up**__!'_

'Well what else can I do!' Allen cried inside his mind, 'I can barely move a finger let alone activate you! I don't have enough energy to do anything that I want! That's why I want to just give up and enjoy my last wish!'

'_You will not give up!'_ the innocence bellowed inside of his mind, _'That is not you! Just because you're dying does not mean that you can give up!'_

'Shut up!' Allen shouted within his mind, 'Who's fault is it that I'm in this position! I should have died back there on that day! I honestly should have died back then! But no! _**You **_used up so much of _**my**_ life force to win that battle then _**you **_decided that it would be better for _**me**_ not to die! You're the reason that I've been in so much pain these past few months! You're the reason that I've had to go through all of this! You are the bloody reason that I'm stuck in a position that I can't even fight! You are the reason that I'm stuck in this damn bed! You are the reason that I'm giving up!'

'…_I know all of that…that's why I won't let you give up,'_ his innocence whispered.

'Why can't I give up! If I can't fight, why should I be forced to torture myself with even more false promises-' Allen started to rant again.

'_What if I told you that I could allow you to fight again?' _his innocence interrupted quickly.

'…What?' Allen questioned.

'_I have not been using any of your energy for a long time now. But if I start to, you'll be able to fight once more by allowing me to control most of your movements,' _his innocence explained, _'I will lessen all of your pain so that you do not feel anything while you are moving. After a while, you'll be able to move on your own by using my own powers. Then when we fight, it will just be like normal, only we can not fight for as long without risking so sort of threat to your life.'_

'…alright, but only on one condition,' Allen gently smiled.

'_Shoot,'_ the innocence sounded.

'We only fight the Earl only when we are sure that we can kill him,' Allen paused, 'And you allow me to go on my date with Lenalee tomorrow.'

'_That's all fine. I was planning on helping you out tomorrow anyway,' _the innocence chuckled, _'but one question for you.'_

'Shoot,' Allen chuckled, earning a strange look from Neah.

'_How will you know when we'll be able to kill the Earl?_' his innocence questioned.

'Easy. All Noah are the same. If you piss them off enough, they'll lose their mind to rage and be actually pretty easy to get close to and kill,' Allen laughed darkly, freaking his uncle out, 'Also, I know for a fact that we'll be seeing a few Noah _**very**_ soon. So we'll just use my health as bait and then the Earl will come running for the chance to see you again and to finally be rid of me. See? Simple, right?'

'…_Are you sure that you aren't some kind of evil genius?'_ his innocence whimpered, _'And how do you know that we'll be seeing Noah soon?'_

Allen laughed very dark and very loud at the question, "Let's just say that I know a good hand when I see one~!"

'…_poker. Right…'_ the innocence sighed, _'Well, guess I better fill Neah in before he freaks out about you losing your mind finally…Though I might agree with him on that…'_

'Think whatever you want but you know that it's gonna work out…but…,' Allen trailed off.

'_But what?'_ Crown Clown asked.

'How am I going to let Neah take control if you are the one mainly moving my body?' Allen asked, 'Won't that pose an even greater challenge for his Noah to take over my body?'

'_hm…you're right…You'll have to find a way to override my control. Some sort of shock or an injury of some sort that would force your entire body to go limp,'_ his innocence spoke.

'…w-what if I was punctured by someone else's innocence?' Allen suggested.

'_That would work but it has to be an innocence of either great power or one that you are very familiar with,' _his innocence explained, _'So that basically leaves Kanda or Ryan. How are you going to ask them to do it, though?'_

'I'll think of something,' Allen thought as he struggled to reach over and ring the bell for the nurse.

"Yes, Mr. Walker?" a nurse asked as she rushed into the room.

"C-Can you pl-please fetch m-my golem, T-Timcampy, from L-Lavi?" Allen asked, voice hoarse from the strain.

"Right away sir," the nurse smiled gently before walking off with her job.

'Why do you need you're golem, kid?' Neah asked Allen.

'_Why do you need you're master's golem here right at this moment, Allen?' _his innocence questioned.

Allen sighed before sadly smiling, "I have one last job for it to do for me."

* * *

_**Mizu: There you have it! That's all that transpired with Allen and his inner peoples! That's why he decided to do everything that happened in the fight. Yay, tying up loose ends is fun!**_

_**Allen: Yay! I'm alive for a little bit!**_

_**Mizu: Well, technically, you're still dead. This is just a flashback.**_

_**Allen: Awww! *fades away***_

_**Lenalee and Lavi: No! Allen, come back!**_

_**Mizu: *ducks into protective bunker* Well, that's it for this chapter~! Remember, I enjoy all comments and reviews! Oh, and don't forget! We've only got one last chapter left to go! Ciao for now! *hides under desk when pounding on the door is heard.* Eep!**_


	24. Chp 23: The Sounds of His Heart Linger

_**Mizu: This is it, everybody! This is the final chapter to An Innocent Heart! This chapter is the epilogue to the entire story. All I can say is that I have really loved this story and am so happy that I was able to finish this story before it reached its one year birthday! Woot! Disclaimer: I don't own -Man. If I did, you know that Leverrier would be dead and Bookman would be locked away somewhere for what he's done to Lavi. (Not saying what he's done just in case you guys haven't read all the latest chapters)**_

* * *

_Chapter Twenty-three- The Sounds of His Heart Linger_

* * *

_Seven years later…_

"Slow down, kid!" Lavi shouted as he sat next to a boy of about five with dark brown hair and dark purplish blue eyes, "You're gonna choke if you keep eating like that."

"I have to!" the kid exclaimed, stuffing another piece of dango in his mouth, "I want to become as strong as Papa! He told me that if I eat good food and study and train a lot I'd become as strong as he is!"

"He didn't mean to do it all at once," Lavi chuckled, "And what makes you think that all of these sweets are good food?"

"Well, Jerry made all of this and Papa says there is no better food in the world to eat," the kid beamed.

"That doesn't mean that it's good for you," Lavi laughed, "Now, what would your momma think if she saw you eating all of this?"

"What if I saw what?" a familiar female voice sounded behind Lavi.

"Mommy!" the boy gasped.

"Lenalee!" Lavi jumped.

"Junior, what do you think you're doing?" Lenalee sighed, picking up two plates of cake.

"Um…well, Papa said that if I eat a lot of good food that I'd get stronger," Junior whimpered.

"He may have said that but what has he told you about power?" Lenalee asked, sitting next to her son.

"…power is only to be in the hands of people who understand it," Junior mumbled.

"And?" Lenalee prodded.

"And everyone has their limits. Never try to force pass those limits. If you are to become stronger, let it happen on its own. Do not make it happen," Junior sighed.

"That's my boy," Lenalee smiled, patting the boy on his head, "Guess what."

"What?" Junior blinked.

"You're appointment with Uncle Komui is today!" Lenalee laughed.

"No!" Junior cried.

"Ah, poor kid," Lavi shuddered, "It must really suck to be a parasitic type user like yourself."

"Don't wanna!" Junior whined.

"Oi, be quiet!" Ryan snapped as he walked in with Jeniya.

"Hey! You guys just get back?" Lavi greeted, smacking Ryan, who now stood as tall as Kanda, square in the back, "Man, you two sure are growing up!"

"Thank you Lavi!" Jeniya giggled.

"I mean it!" Lavi laughed loudly, "You guys sure have matured."

"We get it, Lavi," Ryan growled.

"I love your uniform, Jeniya," Lenalee beamed, "It's so nice!"

"I know, right?" Jeniya beamed, twirling around, "Johnny really out did himself this time!"

Johnny had recently taken to making all the uniforms completely different than everyone else's. Two years earlier, the new higher ups of Central had ordered that all exorcists where the exact same sort of uniform. Saddened, Johnny reluctantly complied. That is, at least, until a certain blonde Crow made it up to the highest rankings. To say the least, Johnny was extremely happy.

The recent victim of Johnny's ecstatic sewing was Jeniya. He modeled her outfit much like Lenalee's second uniform. However, there were many differences to be noted. The back end of her skirt extended down to reach past her knees only to stop halfway to her ankles. Her top only had one strap holding the material up over her left shoulder. Around her neck was a choker like material that her cloak can attach to to help cover her…er …nicely developing body. The color scheme for her uniform was white and black just like Lenalee's uniform was only reversed. The cloak itself was pure white except the piece that rested around her neck. The cloak was a piece of necessity in the mind of Ryan, though…

Ryan's, however, was much simpler. He had requested it as such. The only thing he desperately wanted with his uniform was for it to look as close as possible to his father's uniform. Johnny made sure to do just this. He used all the same material. He used the same colors, though it did take a long time to get that notion approved. Actually, this was the main reason for Johnny's distress. He wanted to keep the uniform the same in honor of their comrade but the higher ups wouldn't hear of it.

Unfortunately for Johnny, though, Ryan wouldn't think of wearing any other sort of uniform. So to appease both, Johnny secretly made Ryan a uniform that was identical to his papa's. He also made a standard uniform for Ryan to wear whenever the Central agents arrived. Thankfully, when Central started to monitor what Johnny spent and on what he spent his money on, Ryan was the perfect size to wear Allen's old uniforms. No one had ever seen Johnny so happy not to make an outfit.

"I can't wait to get my new uniform!" Lenalee squealed.

"Same!" Lavi exclaimed, "I'm still ticked that my last outfit got blown apart."

"Not our fault that you decided to flirt with that hunter's daughter," Ryan chuckled darkly.

"Oi! I told you she was coming onto me!" Lavi snapped, blush fierce across his face.

"Yeah, yeah," Ryan smirked, "Just keep telling yourself that."

"Mommy, what does coming onto mean?" Junior asked.

"Something that means another person really likes you and wants you to notice," Lenalee smiled gently before glaring at the two boys.

"So, Jay, what's with all the whining?" Jeniya smiled warmly at the boy.

"I have to go in for a physical exam with Uncle Komui!" Junior cried.

"Well, that's not so bad," Jeniya giggled, "You've had physicals before."

"Yeah but before he didn't use a giant drill on me and my innocence!" Junior shouted, tears in his eyes.

"My innocence and me," Miranda giggled as she walked into the cafeteria.

Junior pouted as the German woman sat across from the group, "What's wrong with what I said this time Miss Lotto?"

"Easy, you put yourself first. Whenever you speak of yourself and another, you always put the other first," Miranda smiled.

"I can't tell you how much I appreciate you teaching Junior the basics of language, Miranda," Lenalee said.

"It's no problem," Miranda stated, "It's the least I can do. After all, you're husband has done so much for me. For everyone here."

"Don't let him catch you praising him like that," Lenalee laughed, "Hm? Oh, Skylar! Come over here!"

"Ah! Lenalee! And Jay! Good, I was sent by Komui to remind you two of Jay's appointment later today," Skylar said, walking over to the group.

"No fair! Why am I the only one here that can't just go to the Head Nurse for checkups?" Junior whined.

"You're not the only one," Krory said as he walked in for lunch, "I have to go to Komui for checkups."

"How did you know-" Junior started to ask.

"Everyone can hear you all the way down the hallway," Krory smiled, walking over to order.

"Besides, you know that your Papa has to go to Komui too," Skylar pointed out.

"Yeah but…" Junior whimpered.

"You have to because you are a parasitic type wielder. Komui's the person in charge of overseeing how weapons are formed," Lavi explained, rubbing the boy's head.

"It's still not fair," Junior pouted.

"Oh well," Skylar sighed before heaving the pouting child onto his shoulders, "Whether it's fair or not, doesn't matter. What does matter is getting you to that checkup."

"No! Put me down!" Junior flailed.

"Thanks Skylar!" Lenalee beamed, waving bye to her precious son.

"You do realize that Komui takes some sort of sick pleasure by causing him distress, right?" Lavi questioned once the two were out of sight.

"Yeah but it's not like that will ever change," Lenalee giggled, "Besides he takes more pleasure messing with my husband."

"True!" most of the group laughed.

* * *

"I hate Uncle Komui!" Junior shouted through his hiccupping cries.

"Shh, it's fine," Jeniya tried to sooth the balling boy.

"No it's not! He started to drill at my innocence on my chest!" Junior shouted, trying to look as intimidating as possible.

"That's just how Komui is," Jeniya said gently, "He's just really eccentric…"

"I don't care!" Junior snapped, "He's mean and scary and cruel and I don't ever want to see him again."

"What are you whining about now?" Lavi chuckled as he stepped into the doorway of the child's room.

"Komui and his drill," Jeniya sighed.

"Ah, why am I not surprised?" Lavi lightly chuckled as he walked up to the whimpering boy, "Hey, look at me kid."

Slowly, the crying boy looked up at the redhead.

"Who are you named after?" Lavi smiled gently down at the boy.

"M-My papa," the boy whimpered, sniffling a bit.

"Right. Now, who's the strongest man you know?" Lavi smirked.

"My papa," Junior repeated.

"Right again. Now, who can fight hordes of akuma, fight toe to toe with Kanda Yuu, and still race in here to tuck you in?" Lavi asked, ruffling the boy's hair a bit.

"My papa!" the boy beamed.

"Correct!" Lavi laughed, "Now, who can do all of that but get scared just cause your mommy raised her voice at him?"

"My papa!" the boy laughed.

"Right," Lavi smiled gently, "You love your papa right?"

"Of course I do!" Junior responded instantly.

"And you know that he hates to see anyone cry, right?" Lavi added.

"…yes," Junior whimpered.

"So then, what are you doing crying?" Lavi chuckled, ruffling the kid's hair again, "Besides, I thought you wanted to be more like your papa."

"I do!" Junior exclaimed.

"Then you know that he wouldn't even think of crying over what Komui does with that drill," Lavi smirked, "In fact, he tried to knock Komui's lights out after the first time Komui messed with his weapon."

The boy just laughed at the thought of his pacifist father trying to punch Komui. Jeniya even found herself fighting not to laugh at the image.

"See?" Lavi beamed, "Komui doesn't seem so tough now, right?"

"Yeah," Junior just laughed when a knock was heard at the door, "Yes?"

"Hello Junior," a beautiful woman with long brunette hair and silver eyes said from the doorway, "Lavi."

"Hey there Primrose," Lavi beamed as the woman walked into the room.

"I was told to inform you that several exorcists have returned from their latest mission," Primrose stated, "Including Junior's father."

"Papa!" Junior exclaimed happily before racing out the door.

"Wait! Junior! You're father is-" Primrose tried to stop the child, "And he's gone."

"What's wrong, Primmie?" Jeniya asked.

"Poppy was with this group of exorcists due to the fact that they were having a hard time locating the piece of innocence," Primrose stated.

"Yeah, that's not that unusual. She's better at seeing the innocence through things and you're better at spotting it in direct views like pictures," Lavi said.

"Well, there was a large attack from the Earl," Primrose said as her vision drifted downwards.

"Is Poppy alright?" Jeniya asked.

"Yes, she and Sir Kanda were the only two that made it back uninjured," Primrose said, not looking at the two, "But…Junior's father was severely hurt."

* * *

"What do you mean he's not here Uncle Komui?" Junior asked a depressed Komui.

"He's…He's just not here right now, Junior," Komui tried to smile.

"Well, where'd he go?" Junior chuckled, "It's not like he just disappeared or anything like that."

"That's true," Komui sighed, "But let's just say that your father's not here, k?"

"No. Tell me where he is," Junior said.

Komui was silent while Johnny and Reever exchanged some very worried looks.

"Where is my papa!" Junior demanded.

"Why do you want him here so badly, Junior?" Komui asked, looking seriously at the boy, "You two have been apart longer than this last mission. You know that he's a very important and strong exorcist so he's always busy. Why is it that you just now are being so demanding?"

"Cause my birthday is tomorrow and he promised to be here to celebrate it with me!" Junior shouted as tears suddenly appeared in his eyes.

The three scientists froze.

"He swore to me that he would make it back in time for my birthday! He told me that he was going to get me the greatest birthday present ever and that he would make sure to be back the night before!" Junior cried, causing the scientists to freak out.

"I-It's alright, Jay-Jay!" Johnny tried to calm the boy.

"I want my papa!" Junior screamed.

Reever and Johnny quickly fled out of the room as a fuming Lenalee stomped towards her older brother, "What the hell is going on in here!"

"Uncle Komui's being a mean meaniie head!" Junior cried, running up to his mother.

"Nii-san!" Lenalee snapped, glaring at the poor Chinese man.

"I swear! I didn't do anything this time!" Komui whimpered.

"Oh come on, Nii-san! Isn't using your drill on my poor baby enough torture for him to go through for one day?" Lenalee growled.

"I really didn't do anything!" Komui cried, "He's upset that his father isn't here right now!"  
"What?" Lenalee blinked, "Junior, is that what's wrong?"

"Yeah," Junior nodded as he wiped the tears from his eyes, "He won't tell me where papa is."

"Sweetheart," Lenalee said softly, kneeling in front of her son, "That's isn't something you should be upset with Komui with."

"But he won't tell me where papa went!" Junior protested.

"Junior," Lenalee sighed, "Your papa is in the infirmary right now, sweetheart."

Junior's eyes widened, "Wh-What?"

"He's was badly injured trying to get back in time for your birthday," Lenalee said, "He wanted to get back before your birthday tomorrow so he forced through the lines of akuma and ran into several Noah and even the Earl."

Junior's eyes began to fill up with tears. Biting down on his lip, the young boy tried to stop any of the liquid emotion from rolling out of his eyes with not luck. After a moment of trying to keep in his pain, the boy's legs erupted, shooting him into his mother's open arms. He buried his face into her shirt, crying his tiny heart out.

"I'm s-sorry!" he cried, "If I hadn't m-m-made him p-promise to b-b-be home for m b-birthday, papa wouldn't h-have gotten h-hurt."

"Shhh," Lenalee soothed, running gentle circles on his back, "It's alright. You know that he would have done this anyway, even if you didn't make him promise that. You know that he wouldn't miss your birthday for the world."

"I-Is papa gonna die?" Junior whimpered, hiccupping every now and then.

"What?" Lenalee gasped, "Heavens no! You're father is no where near death, sweetheart. It's just that he was knocked unconscious and has a pretty bad concussion. Add that to a broken left leg and he's just in the infirmary getting fixed up."

"So," Junior sniffled, "He's gonna be okay."

"Of course!" Lenalee giggled, "He'll have to stay overnight in the infirmary but he should be up and walking tomorrow in time for your birthday party."

"Yay!" Junior cheered, quickly drying his tears and running out the door.

"You've got an amazing kid there, Lenalee," Komui smiled.

"I know but have you noticed that every now and then-" Lenalee started to ask.

"That he's started to act like Allen used to when he finally got used to everyone at the Order?" Komui finished, still smiling, "Yeah."

Lenalee sighed before turning to her brother with a sad smile on her face, "I can't help but wonder sometimes, Nii-san. If that night hadn't happened all those years ago, would I have found this happiness with my son and husband?"

Komui stayed silent for a moment before pulling his sister in for a hug, "Who knows, Lenalee? Who honestly knows…"

* * *

The next day…

* * *

"Hurry up, Lavi!" Junior shouted back at the yawning redhead.

"Oi, wait up," Lavi groaned, "It's not like the party's gonna start without you kid."

"But the sooner I get there, the sooner the party can start!" Junior smirked.

"Not if everyone is still asleep," Lavi sleepily growled, "And why isn't your mother the one taking you down to your own party?"

Junior slowed his fast pace as a somewhat sad look flashed across his face, "Momma's with papa right now. Papa got hurt trying to get back so he's in the hospital right now. Momma said she wanted to go see him this morning when she woke me up."

"Right," Lavi said, gently smiling at the boy, "Well, we better get there before your momma and papa do otherwise there might not be any thing left to celebrate with."

"Yeah!" Junior beamed.

The two quickly made their way down to the lounge where the party was set up. As they walked, Lavi couldn't help but remember all the huge parties the Order used to have. He remembered how all of the finders, scientists, and all the exorcists at home would all come together to celebrate various things. Birthdays, holidays, new arrivals, and the very emotional homecomings. He could remember that there were many parties that he never really tried to enjoy due to his former bookman occupation. It really wasn't until Allen came to the Order that he finally got into all of the parties.

'But what about now?' Lavi thought sadly, 'He isn't gonna be here for this one.'

Lavi found himself reliving many parties where he toyed around with Allen. He remembered playing jokes on Yuu with his white-haired brother. He remembered all the moments that he shuddered whenever Allen went black. He remembered all the failed attempts to get him to admit that he really liked Lenalee.

"We're here Lavi!" Junior announced before sprinting into the room.

"Junior!" Jeniya exclaimed, happily capturing the boy in her arms.

"Big Sister!" Junior laughed.

"Happy Birthday!" Jeniya laughed, picking the kid up, "Come on! Let's go have some fun!"

"Yeah!" Junior laughed.

The party went better than anyone had expected. Lenalee had arrived right after the birthday boy had, bringing the good news that his father was going to be alright. Every exorcist that came by to wish Junior a happy birthday was dragged into the lounge to enjoy a piece of Jerry's famous giant birthday cake. The cake itself was a miniaturized version of Allen's for his sixteenth birthday. That was something that Lenalee had insisted on. Every single on of her son's birthdays had had one of these cakes. It was more for herself than anything. She needed it for something to remember a time before that night all those years ago.

As the party continued, various things happened to make this day historic. One, Lavi managed to drag Kanda into the room to celebrate with the party. He then teamed up with Timothy and tricked him into playing a game of blindfolded bobbing for apples. From the point when he put the blindfold on till he finally gave up in frustration, Timothy stood a good distance back and recorded everything on Timcampy. Unknown to Lavi, Timothy also recorded the part where Kanda nearly beheaded the redhead after he found out the tub had no apples in it. It really gave everyone qiute a good laugh. The redhead screaming while being chased with a Mugen wielding Kanda whose hair was falling out of his ponytail and soaking wet. Priceless.

Towards the middle of the day, while everyone was mingling together after weeks of missions, Junior was found sitting at a table by himself, just pushing a piece of cake back and forth on his plate. He sighed in depression as he stared down at the piece of sugary heaven. True, this party and all was great, but there was just something missing…

Suddenly, Junior found his eyes being covered by two gloved hands.

"Give me all your cake," the person growled in a low voice.

The child just giggled in response.

"Guess who, Junior," the person chuckled.

"Um…Lavi?" Junior laughed.

"No, I don't think I would ever be caught with that bright of red hair," the person laughed loudly.

"Uncle Komui?" Junior toyed.

"Come now. Do I really sound like some maniac that would use a giant drill on people?" the person scoffed.

"Hm…Papa?" Junior asked, smirking.

"Ding! Ding! Ding!" the person exclaimed happiliy, lifting his hands from his son's face.

"Papa!" Junior shouted, turning to face his beloved father.

There he stood. Everything that he had grown up knowing as a true hero. As a true figure of strength, wisdom, and love wrapped up all in one person. He was everything that he wanted be when he grew up. His father was kind. His father was understanding. His father was the greatest man that Junior knew. And he couldn't be any prouder about that he was his dad.

When he turned around, just like always, the first thing that quite his sight was the pure white hair that was tied back in a low ponytail, leaving just his bangs hanging free. Junior always joked with his dad that it made him look girly but it really didn't bug him. The next thing that his eyes focused on were the two scars on his father's face. The first one that just went across his right eye diagonally. This scar started from above his nose, went down and across his right eye, and ended at the top of his cheek bone. The second scar was a bright red scar that descended down from a pure red invented pentacle. It went straight down the middle of his left eye before being intersected by another part of the scar just under his eye. The rest of the scar continued to go down until running almost parallel with his left cheek bone. At the very end of his cheek bone to run down his jaw line. All in all, both scars made his father stand out very well.

The final things that he always noticed about his father was his eyes and his smile. His mother always told him that his papa would smile when you were feeling down. If you needed someone, he and his pure smile would be there. But that wasn't the smile that was what everyone at the order longed for. Everyone wanted to see him smile whenever he was truly happy. They all said that that was the greatest treasure the Order had. And Junior had to agree. Then there were his eyes. They were a shimmering silverish gray that where always filled with so much love and compassion. Junior admitted that he was fascinated with his father's eyes. He would even go as far to say that he was envious of them. How he loved to watch all the emotions flash through his papa's eyes. How amazing they looked. How he wished he had been born with them as well.

"Papa!" Junior shouted again, quickly hugging his father, "I thought you weren't going to be let out of the hospital today."

"I convince the Head Nurse to let me go," his father said, smiling warmly down at his son, "I wouldn't miss my little guy's birthday for the world."

"Allen!" Lenalee and Lavi exclaimed when they finally noticed the head of white on a pair of crutches.

"Hey," Allen laughed, sitting down slowly, "Oof…Man, I really shouldn't be up on my leg just yet."

"Then why are you here?" Lenalee scolded, placing her hands on her hips.

"Cause it's our son's birthday today," Allen stated, lifting the boy up onto his lap, "I told you that I wasn't going to miss out on it. It just took me a little longer getting here on the crutches than I had expected."

"I thought someone was watching you to make sure that you didn't get up!" Lavi snapped.

"Well, he was but then he got tired and just left," Allen nervously laughed, "Besides, Kanda was hungry."

"Kanda!" Lenalee shouted, stomping off towards the stoic samurai.

"Dude, I'm happy that you're up and about but you know that you shouldn't be pushing you-" Lavi started to say.

"Look, I know Lavi," Allen said, ruffling his son's hair, "I know I have to be careful. I know that I'm lucky to still be here."

"Hey, Papa, you hungry?" Junior asked excitedly.

"You bet!" Allen laughed a bit.

"Stay right here! I'll go ask Jerry to get you something to eat!" Junior exclaimed before disappearing into the party crowd.

"He's a good kid," Allen stated, sitting back in his seat.

"So where you," Lavi smiled.

"…Why did you quit trying to become a Bookman?" Allen asked.

"Eh, just wasn't worth it. Before I came to the Order, I found all humans' stupid and war pointless. I had honestly lost what made me human," Lavi shrugged, "But being here at the Order and seeing everything that's happened, made me realize that it would stupid not to care about our fellow people. It's not that we want to fight, it's that we just want to make sure that we can raise our families in a better place than we were. And that's not stupidity or pointless. That's just love."

Allen just nodded before turning to look out at the party, "I'll admit that there was a time that I would have been willing to throw all of this away to protect everyone else. I thought at if I could just safe everyone else, then my death would be worth it. A life full of nothing would be worth it…

"But I'm glad I didn't. I'm glad that my innocence saved me one last time that night," Allen said, smiling happily as tears slid out of his eyes, "I'm so bloody happy that once you guys realized that I wasn't dead yet. You have no idea how happy I am that you guys saved me back then. If you hadn't…I wouldn't have found all of this. I wouldn't have found my little bit of happiness."

"We're all happy that you didn't die," Lavi chuckled a bit, ruffling his little brother's hair.

"Papa!" Jeniya cried, flinging her arms around her father's shoulders.

"Ah! Jeniya!" Allen gasped.

"Some more than others," Lavi laughed loudly.

"Jeniya," Ryan sighed as he helped Jerry carry two very large trays of food to Allen, "You need to stop doing that. Papa isn't as strong as he used to be."

"Oi, what's that suppose to mean?" Allen growled at his adopted son, "I'm stronger than I've ever been."

"Yeah but you also have more injuries and scars than you ever have," Ryan laughed darkly.

Allen gave a very dark chuckle before letting a little of his darker side come forth, "Do you really want to pull out that card, Ryan? Do you really want to do this?"

Ryan's entire body trembled in fear in rememberance the last time he was at the receiving end of his father's dark poker glare.

"N-No," Ryan shook his head.

"Good boy," Allen beamed.

"Hey Papa," Junior said, stilling a stick of dango from the tray, "Can you teach me how to play poker some time?"

"Why, Junior, of cour-" Allen started to say before one of his beloved wife's Dark Boots descended onto his skull.

"Allen Walker!" Lenalee bellowed, causing all men in the area to flinch, "I thought we agreed that there would be no use of your dark half around Junior!"

"I-I didn't mean too!" Allen cried, trying to mend the situation, "I-I was just m-messing with Ryan!"

"I don't care!" Lenalee shouted, kicking him in the head again, "You promised me that you wouldn't go black when Junior was around!"

"I'm sorry!" Allen cried.

"And you!" Lenalee growled, turning to her son.

"Ah!" Junior yelped.

"You know better than that, Allen Xing Walker!" Lenalle snapped at the young boy, "You know that I will not tolerate you learning your father's "tricks" of poker!"

"I-I'm sorry, Momma! I forgot!" Junior cried.

"D-Don't be made at J-Junior, my l-love," Allen tried to sooth.

"Hush!" Lenalee snapped.

"But-" Allen tried to say.

"Do you want to be kicked again?" Lenalee growled.

"…no. But you shouldn't be getting so mad at our son on his birthday," Allen whimpered.

Lenalee stood there for a second before taking a deep breath to calm herself, "You're right. I'm sorry, Junior."

"It's alright, Momma," Junior smiled, "So, Papa, whatcha bring me for my birthday?"

"Right!" Allen exclaimed before digging through his pockets, "It took me awhile but I finally found it."

"You did?" Lenalee gasped.

"Of course I did," Allen smiled before pulling out a bright red ball and putting it in his son's hands, "Happy birthday son!"

"…it's a ball," Junior pouted.

"Not just any ball," Allen said, "Why don't you squeeze it?"

Junior did as he said, not surprised in the least that the ball squeaked.

"It's just a ball, papa," Junior whined.

"Wait for it," Lenalee giggled.

Junior was about ask why when a blur of white tackled him to the ground.

"Happy birthday!" His parents exclaimed while his face was being wettened by a pink tongue.

"Y-You got me a puppy?" Junior exclaimed, shocked that one of his strongest birthday wishes came true.

"Not just any puppy," Lenalee said.

"I went to an island close to Japan and found you a pure white Kishu Inu/Akita Inu mix puppy," Allen said, kneeling down to pick up the puppy, "This one was the runt of her litter but she had the best temperament."

"I had convinced your uncle and the higher ups to allow us to start owning our own pets," Lenalee explained, "They agreed on the condition that they were trained to help find the innocence and help protect people.

"So when your mother told me, I knew I had to find you the perfect puppy," Allen said, chuckling when the puppy licked his face, "And when I saw her, I knew that she would be perfect for you."

"Really?" Junior gaped.

"Really," Allen said, handing the puppy over to his son, "But you will be the one to make sure she gets outside to use the bathroom."

"And you'll be in charge of feeding her," Lenalee added.

"And training her to help you on missions," Allen finished.

"I will!" Junior shouted happily, "So what's her name?"

"That's for you to decide," Allen chuckled.

"How about…Amorette!" Junior said, earning several excited licks, "So Amorette it is!"

"Alright, why don't you go run along with Amorette and play, k?" Lenalee proposed to her son.

"Kk!" Junior beamed, "Come on Jeniya! Come play with us!"

"Sure thing!" Jeniya laughed as she and Junior ran out into the hall.

"So," Lenalee said, once their son was out of sight, "How did your battle with the Earl go this time?"

"We killed another Noah and I managed to land a major wound to the Earl," Allen sighed heavily, "He's getting weaker each time I land a hit. By now, he can't do much. He can really only make akuma right now."

"But that's still too much," Lenalee sighed.

"Right," Allen nodded.

"But we're getting there," Lavi said, "Slowly but surely."

"My only wish is that the war ends before I see grandchildren," Lenalee whined.

"Lenalee!" Allen laughed, "Junior's only six and you're already thinking of grandkids."

"So?" Lenalee giggled, "And I didn't mean just from Junior."

"Huh?" Allen blinked while Lavi snickered next to him, "What's that suppose to mean?

"Oh nothing," Lenalee said sweetly, "Just that you need to get ready to have another kid."

"…what?" Allen gaped.

"I'm pregnant, silly~!" Lenalee laughed.

3…2…1…

"That's amazing, my love!" Allen shouted happily.

"NO, MY PRECIOUS LENALEE!" Komui shrieked.

"How long have you known?" Allen asked excitedly, ignoring the scientists struggling to hold Komui back.

"Only for a couple of days," Lenalee said, "I'm only two and a half months along."

"Two and a half…That's right before I left for this mission!" Allen beamed.

"Right!" Lenalee giggled.

The two parents froze when they spotted their son race through the room, laughing, with his new puppy at his heals.

"He really is a great kid, my love," Allen smiled gently towards his son.

"And soon he'll be a great role model," Lenalee added.

"Man, I wish I could be that innocent and oblivious to everything," Lavi commented when he spotted a fuming Kanda after Junior accidentally spill a very large glass of punch on him.

"Don't we all at times," Allen chuckled, shaking his head, "Oi~! BaKanda! Watch where you're going! You nearly spilt all of that on my kid!"

"Shut the hell up, Moyashi!" Kanda hissed, chucking his glass towards the white-haired man.

While Allen and Kanda continued their banter, Lavi and Lenalee leaned back and just thought how well Junior was doing with with such an insane family.

"Maybe its cause of that huge heart your husband has. I mean, when we first met him, there was nothing more innocent than that heart of his," Lavi said, thinking that to be the real reason that the kid was so good at living with all of them before flinching at the dark figure looming over Allen.

"Allen…" Komui growled, causing Allen to flinch and pale, "Let's have a look at that arm, shall we?"

Allen honestly screamed bloody murder when Komui started up his giant drill.

"I think that huge, innocent heart just had a huge heart attack," Lenalee smirked.

_**The End**_

* * *

_**Mizu: *doing a very happy dance* I'm finally finished! Yay!**_

_**Allen: *doing the dance too* I'm not dead! Yahoo!**_

_**Lavi: *also doing the dance* Now there's only one thing left to say~!**_

_**Everyone: *dancing along* We love all reviews!**_

_**Mizu: That should do it! Ciao for now peoples! =3**_


	25. Extra: What's next?

_**For all of my readers...**_

_**Mizu: Hey everybody!**_

_**Lavi: *flinches* Aww! She's back!**_

_**Everyone else freezes: What!**_

_**Mizu: Oh, hush up you guys! I just wanted to come back here and tell something to everyone else who's ready this. **_

_**Everyone: Oh *sighs relieved***_

_**Mizu: I just wanted to tell everyone that I really love you guys for sticking with me till the end of the story. I know that it was a long time but I really appreciate it. You guys are honestly the ones that kept me writing for this story. So, thanks!**_

_**Anyway, a lot of you had asked me if I was going to write a sequel for this story. And I know that I said that I probably wouldn't. But I changed my mind! I am writing something in relation to this story. However, I wouldn't call it a sequel. I'd call it a collection of one-shots. Like how Allen managed to survive after he died. So I decided to put those one-shots in one story, A Fragmented Heart. I just wanted to tell you guys that I decided not to just stop end this story.**_

_**I think that's it. Oh, if you guys have suggestions for A Fragmented Heart, feel free to pm me! **_

_**Allen: Please, just don't try to kill me again!  
Mizu: No promises! K, Ciao for now guys!**_


End file.
